Mors Mortis Miko
by Jag-o-mite
Summary: The day she was kissed by Death was the day her world ended. In an attempt to return her friends to life, Kagome becomes cursed to do Death's biddings. No matter the cost...or consequences. A crossover series. I own only the plot.
1. Prologue

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

The day she was kissed by Death was the day her world ended. She had been stupid, and now she was left alone to die.

Her body spasms in pain as she struggles against her will to breathe. Her body feels like lead and she wishes it would go numb. Stop the pains of her wounds and soul. And as she kneels amidst the battlefield, a hopeless, broken soul, she reflected on the events that lead to this tragedy of mind.

She figured her downward spiral started 3 years ago. The day when Inuyasha had finally made his choice. He had chosen to be with her. He had finally come to realize that Kikyo was his one and only love; and he decided to show her the love he felt she deserved.

Her heart had been broken, dejected, and cast away and though it pained her, she had accepted his choice. She would focus the love she had for the hanyou in a show of support and painted smiles. She even tolerated the dead priestess when she joined the group. Even if the two couldn't stand to be near each other for a long period of time, they had a silent understanding of each other with grudging respect.

But she had been okay, if not entirely happy. She had her other friends, and offers of decapitating the hanyou for her. She made do; she focused more on Shippo, fighting, and doing the work of a caretaker. She cooked and healed, and made everyone comfortable. Beside her relationship with Inuyasha, everything was pretty much the same, even Kouga. But as he came courting again, she nearly made him choke on his tongue when she had said yes. She had shocked more than just him when she agreed. She shocked her friends and herself. She hadn't expected herself to ever accept his proposal, but as she was asked, she felt like a tired shadow of her former self. She guessed Kikyo had been affecting her more than she thought.

She would have smiled at the memory of how ecstatic the wolf prince had been. She would have, if it didn't hurt so much to even think of smiling again. He had taken her away, the very next day, after rubbing it in Inuyasha's face, to his mountain keep, and in a few short weeks they were mated. She didn't love the prince as much as she loved the hanyou, he knew it, she knew, everyone knew it, but she loved him enough so that they were happy together.

Their mating had put a yielding on shard hunting. She was now the alpha female of the wolves and she had duties to fulfill that her mate was to roguish, rough, and insensitive to handle. Like keeping the peace between them, other clans, species, protecting the keep while he was away, and keeping the Lords of the lands at bay. If things were to get too vigorous, then he could step in with his kick butt attitude, and then she would console things over with her charm. Their mating had also given her a bit of his wolf stamina, so she wasn't such a liability to her clan and friends anymore.

During quiet times, she continued jewel hunting with her friends, until Kouga showed up and hoisted her away. Yet her excursions with her friends were put on a complete end when she had gotten pregnant. Of course her friends would stop by and catch up, give her the unpurified jewels they had scrounged up, for Kikyo was incapable of doing such, and just keeping her company. These were done in short company by Inuyasha and Kikyo. Although he had made his choice, he was still jealous. She just never knew the extent of it.

The happiest day of her life happened the day Atreyu was born. Atreyu was her beautiful baby boy and he had her heart in a vice grip. He had his father's eyes, her thick hair, minus the tail part, and both of their personalities. Quick tempered and so full of joy; he was.

She couldn't remember exactly what had happened, maybe she had left to fetch water, went out hunting, or maybe someone had put her under a spell, but all she remembered was finding the dead wolf bodies, claw marks, broken arrows, and arcs caused by a familiar magical sword. From what it looked like, they had been attacked suddenly and without warning, Kouga had tried to protect their child, but he couldn't stop a purifying arrow. And their defenseless, infant child…she never got to say goodbye. She would never get to hear him say 'mama'.

She had gone into a sort of hibernation that day: the only thing working her body was her hunger for revenge. She remembered nothing, not eating, drinking, or resting. Those months went by so fast, before…it happened. She had been so stupid.

She hadn't noticed what they were doing when she found them. She hadn't taken in account about where they were. All she saw were Inuyasha, Kikyo, and her dead family.

_Rage_. Rage made you blind. Rage made you invulnerable, and grief made you stupid. Inuyasha was merely an inch away from death by her hands, when Naraku, mockingly, told her he had been the one to kill her family. Then she had come out it, but by then it was too late. The damage had been done. Everyone was dead. Looking around at the devastation she had caused, her resolve snapped.

She broke down and cried, she raged, she rampaged, and she went into shock.

She hadn't overtly killed Sango, Miroku and the others, but she might as well have. She had killed Inuyasha; they were left to fight Naraku and his horde alone. She had kept Inuyasha busy, and she had neglected to come their aide when they called her name.

With a fury beyond her control, she had taken the evil hanyou, and his remaining cronies, down. Spending up the last of her power. Draining herself dry like a sponge. She felt it when her life's energy began to diminish, but she kept on until there was nothing left.

It was late, and at too high a price, but Kagome had finally avenged them. She fell to her knees, her wounds and exhaustion finally weighing down on her. She had killed her friends, but she didn't mourn them, she'd apologize to them personally on the other side. There was no way she was going to live, so she sat, devoid of life, and waited for her death. She _longed _for it.

But it never came. She waited and waited, yet she made no move to leave. It wasn't until the numbness that she had been pleasuring in began to fade did she finally collapse and cry. She was still alive, all alone to grieve for the rest of her life, while they remained dead; to haunt her thoughts.

_The jewel._

She stopped crying and sat up. She still had the jewel. She could fix it, fix everything, and return things to normal. The jewel, it was the cause of this all. She would finally put it to rest; she would make a wish and bring her friends back.

_She had made a mistake._

She made her wish and the jewel backfired. She thought she had lost consciousness, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that the next time she opened her eyes; her friends were standing around her, but they weren't right. They weren't the friends she remembered.

_They were wrong._

They stood around her smiling, but their features were shrouded in a constant darkness that reeked of evil. Their pungent smell stung her nose, but she couldn't move as they stared her down. Nothing was visible on them except their eyes and their wicked smiles. They said nothing as they stared, accusingly, mockingly at her, and suddenly, with a sound as loud as thunder they shot into the air, and disappeared with a bright, blinding light. Leaving her alone once again. And that's when death decided to come.

And so now she sat, a shell of the woman she had once been, at the feet of Death, the jewel clasped in his bony grip.

"For the crimes you have committed against me," he said, speaking from the grotesque skull beneath the cloak, "You have hereby forfeited your life to me, from whom you shall receive your punishment."

"Why?" she croaked softly, her voice cracking with the effort, and then more strongly. "Isn't losing my child and mate suffice enough? I've killed my friends! Why must I suffer more? Why can't I just die?"

"Because!" he roared, his free arm suddenly striking out and gripping her tightly by her torn, bloody arm and lifting her off her feet. She hadn't been expecting such a strong grip to be coming from such a bony hand, and she felt repulsed by his cold touch. "You were the jewel's protector; you neglected to purify it before making your selfish wish."

"It wasn't selfish; I gave them their life back!" She yelled in her defense.

"You took their peace!" he yelled louder. "You made that wish for yourself! You didn't want to be alone, so you robbed them of their peace with a tainted jewel! And now the evil of the jewel has them! That's why! That's why you're being punished!"

She said nothing as her tears flowed down her face. He nodded at her renouncement. He lowered his hood and grabbed her head gently, forcing her to look at him. She should have been shocked by what she saw, but she wasn't.

Instead of the skull, that she had caught glimpses of through the cloak, she met the eyes of a man with wavy black hair with streaks of gray, but the young look of his face didn't match the oldness of his aura, but his blackened eyes did. His eyes looked as old as dirt. Other than that his features were indistinct, she wouldn't have called him handsome, nor would she have called him homely…he just….was.

"For your crimes," he started, and she would have thought his words gentle if not for the angered, hard look in his eyes. "…for your debt you owe to me. You will travel in the In-Between by the shadow of the new moon, and you will capture and return the souls you stole from my grasp, back to me."

"…return to them how?" she asked, fearing, and knowing what he meant.

"Kill them..." He told her simply, and before she could adjust, he kissed her on the forehead.

The gesture confused her and she was wondering how to respond when something inside her cracked. She couldn't hear it, nor could she feel it, but she knew.

"Or risk losing your sanity." He finished in a pacifying tone as he slowly released her. As he backed away from her and pulled his hood back up, the skin and hair melted away, revealing the skull once more.

"What if I can't?" she whispered, looking at the ground. "What if I fail? What if I don't survive?"

She could hear the smile in his voice as he answered. "I will not allow it." And then he was gone, simply faded away and she was once again left alone…alone…except for the jewel.

* * *

The weeks to come before the new moon were mainly a blur to her. She spent them sitting and waiting. Sometimes, she would find herself smiling at nothing. She would snap back into reality the moment she did, but only to find her at it again as time passed. On the umpteenth occasion, she just let herself go on. At least she was happy, even if she didn't know what for.

In that time, she kept the jewel on the chain around her neck. Whether its powers lay dormant, or it was dead inside, she didn't know, but she knew she felt nothing from within the jewel. She only kept it for remembrance…and the fact that she threw it in the river and almost drowned trying to go after it.

It seemed that she was still its protector, and it had a hold over her.

Figured.

The night of the new moon was finally upon her, and she found herself anxious with excitement. The sun disappeared behind the trees and night was finally in full bloom.

It took her a moment to notice the pull: the sudden wind that manifested, pulling her towards a rip in the air. The doorway to the In-Between.

The rip widened, and the force of the black abyss beyond it almost sent her falling on her face, but she held her ground.

Although the inside of the portal was black, the powerful corona around it was pallid, it gave off no light.

The smile found its way onto her face, she didn't try to stop it, she just let it blossom. And so smiling broadly, she gripped the jewel around her neck and jumped into the void.

* * *

If she was to call the portal anything, it would be disorienting. Although it had been black when she jumped into it, the inside was anything but. The in-between was exactly how it sounded. It was a corridor in between two endless rows of doorways, much the same as the one she had just entered. It wasn't as dark as she thought it would be, it was white, but it wasn't blinding. Above her stood endless white, below her, individual pieces of gray slate floated about three feet apart from each other and further apart from the doorways. In between each doorway and piece of slate the endless white continued, making it seem as if she floated on and in nothing. Which she was.

She floated about for a millisecond before an unknown force sent her hurtling down the corridor. She was going at a break neck speed, and though she should have been afraid, she found that she could care less. Even when one of the doors suddenly jumped into her path, she didn't flinch.

It opened into darkness and she knew that it was her destination, the force that had been pulling her all along. The force that pulled her in was suddenly gone as she came out the other end at a fast and dangerous pace, but luckily she was only 10 feet from the ground.

She landed on her hand, immediately feeling bones and tendons breaking. She cried out in pain as she finally came to a halt, her hurt hand lying underneath her. Cradling her injury, she slowly and painfully got up to survey the lands around her.

Nothing too strange. The sky was still blue and the grass was still green. She just might be able to survive here. Just as this thought went through her head, something else did as well. Her name. Something had whispered her name in the wind. Something angry and evil. One of her friends.

Turning her head in the general direction the thought had come from; she took a step in their direction and stumbled. She braced herself for pain to shoot up her arm but it never did. Infact, it was barely sore now, and she could move it. And as she focused on it, she could feel the bones and tendons repairing themselves as she stood there.

When she could feel no more movement, she rotated her hand experimentally. Nothing. No pain or soreness at all. She found herself smiling again.

She just might win this after all.


	2. Chp 1

A/N:

First chapter is up. I own nothing but the plot, and this story was created with the help of my wonderful assistant Muffin Goodness.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Lady in Chains**

She had been at it for a year. Or was it three? Eight? Twelve? Everything was starting to meld together, time nearly indiscernible. It didn't trouble her too much. Chasing her murderous friends from dimension to dimension so she could hack them to bits kept her mind pretty well occupied for the most part. The journey had developed its own rhythm:

Chase, find, fight, escape.

Chase, find, fight, escape.

Even though her quest was on the forefront of her mind, she was easily distracted. Scouring a world for clues to the whereabouts of her friends, the monotony of asking, 'Have you seen any murderous, shadowed people hanging around the area lately?' became too routine and her mind would wander to other things. She'd get attracted by the sound of a fly bouncing repeatedly against a closed window, how red her hand got when she burned it with boiling water, and how easy birds made flying look. She knew firsthand that arms weren't the human equivalent of wings.

When she did run into any of her friends, or they into her, she'd stare blankly at them for a few minutes, trying to remember if they had ever looked different than what they did now. When it hit her that she was supposed to kill them, she'd grab whatever was closest, and charge at them full-kilter.

That was her favorite part…the fighting. It was never planned; she had no plan on what she would do next. It was all spontaneous. Which was probably why she liked it; it was incoherent. Much like her thoughts.

She had been at it enough for her sanity to slip. No more coherent thoughts for her, no more. It went from having her smiling, to laughing, to hysteria, and now to manic activeness. Plus boredom. Not a good combination. This leads to a complete disregarding of her quest, as she had come to think of it, and mingling with the people of the current dimension she had entered. So far she had been hung, shot, drowned, and beheaded.

Sometimes she'd die before she ever met up with anyone. The locals tended to see her as a witch or a demon when she came out of dangerous stunts unscathed. It was actually fun to watch the look on people's faces when her body sat up, re-attached her head, and gave them a cheery smile and a wave. She liked to through in an occasional maniacal laugh here and there to spice things up. She had to leave after that, though, because news traveled fast and any hopes of running into any of her zombie-friends would be dashed.

When she wasn't terrorizing villagers with pranks or damaging herself out of curiosity, she concentrated on her mission. After a few weeks (months?) of traveling, she came across a world that was fairly well forested. She spent a few days (weeks?) gleaning information off of the locals and learned that someone was killing off the beautiful women in the area. She knew right away it was Miroku. She followed his trail for a while, not really seeing anything but trees, managing to hold an intellectual conversation with the forest folk about the acorn crisis, when she came across a rather large merchant caravan that had been slaughtered. Miroku stood across the clearing, watching her. Waiting for her.

She smiled in greeting, and he grinned back. Same old Miroku, always the charmer.

She knew it was stupid to fight him with a sword. She didn't know how to use a sword all that well, but it was close combat fighting and a bow wouldn't have been much help. So she fought him with a sword she pulled from a dead body, and ended up with it in her abdomen as Miroku made his escape.

With a barely audible grunt, she wrenched to offending weapon from her gut, and watched with a small giggle as Death's curse knitted the skin back together. As the wound finished healing, a group of humans burst out of the underbrush, weapons drawn and pointed at her. They looked military to her, wearing matching blue uniforms and green flak-jackets. They all wore, what she would consider, headbands, all adorned with the same spiral symbol.

"Halt where you are." One of them yelled at her, none neither coming close nor backing off.

She smiled broadly in the direction the voice was coming from and shifted positions, making them all grip their weapons tighter. Some even twirling theirs in anticipation.

"Are you the one doing all the killings?" the same guy asked.

She stood up straighter and looked around at the massacre with a serious face, her bloodied sword, and then at herself. Smiling again she shrugged. "Maybe." She laughed.

The head man, she assumed, frowned. "If you are, you will return with us for trial. Do not resist us and we will not be forced to render you immobile." The way he said it made the word _immobile_ sound like they meant to kill her.

She smiled cheekily, dropped her sword, and held up her hands to him. "I'll be good, I promise."

* * *

They were back. They were finally back, from that super, top-secret, no nonsense, hard to get information on, dangerous, hush hush mission that everyone was talking about.

Someone, or something, had been out terrorizing the country-side, killing and maiming all in their path. Killing relentlessly, slaughtering the innocents, and making mish meat out of poor animals. And only the top ninja's of their village had been selected to capture this psycho. Capture him and bring him back to Konoha to be sentenced by the Hokage. They had been successful. A letter was received a week ago, informing them of their successful capture and that they would be returning today.

So, naturally, word got out and now everyone was crowding the main road, hoping to get a glance of the criminal. Naruto was no different; in fact he had the best seat in the whole village. He was currently perched atop an electric pole, watching the steadily growing dot, which was the convoy of ANBU and their very special guest.

"Hey, Naruto!" he heard someone yell.

"Huh?" he asked aloud, looking towards the offending voice, only to find Sakura and Sasuke waving at him, well Sakura was waving, and standing in the front of the crowd. Even better than a lamppost.

"Hey!" he yelled as he bounded over and across the crowd to join his teammates. "Great view, I bet you could see that maniac really good from here."

"Exactly why we're here. I want to see this criminal up close." Sakura told him.

"Here they come." Sasuke said, his soft voice sounding loud when the crowd all seemed to hush simultaneously…the first of the ninja had appeared.

The ninja…the best and youngest their village had to offer…looked as if they had been through hell and back. They walked tiredly with a timid awareness of their surroundings. None had visible wounds nor did they seem to be missing any members. Their eyes, their haunted eyes, stared straight ahead, not meeting the eyes of any of the villagers. They were uneasy, nervous, weary, and maybe even a tad bit frightened.

_'Of what?_' Naruto thought with concern. His eyes traveled from their faces to their formation; two in the front, three in the back, one on each side, and in the middle: the prisoner. As he laid eyes upon their figure, he unintentionally stepped back as something inside of him recoiled.

It was a woman. A young woman stood in the middle of the ninja squad looking around at everything with an innocent, cheerful disposition. Yet, she wore chains and shackles and ragged, blood stained clothes.

Was she the one? Was she the one terrorizing the country side, killing those people, and destroying whole villages and families? She both did and didn't look the part. She was young in the face and body; he would put her into her early twenties, her hair was down and an inky, ebony black, but her eyes looked old and crazed and the way her bangs hung in her face made her seem deadly.

"What's the matter, Naruto? You scared?" Sasuke teased, seeing Naruto's frightened stance.

"You're telling me you don't feel that?" Naruto asked him shakily, turning to look at him for the first time since he laid eyes on the woman. Just as he asked, Sasuke went rigid and jerked his head to stare at the young woman. Naruto was used to detecting other ninjas' chakras, one would die in battle if the ability wasn't learned, and had grown accustomed to feeling the standard normality of battle-ready energy that everyone had. This woman, though, felt _off. _If someone had asked him to describe it in colors, he would say blue shot through with black. Her inner energy didn't match her appearance at all. She was cute, big, brown eyes, thick tresses, and small in stature, but with the aura of insanity and darkness.

She was humming to herself as she walked, but stopped as she crossed into their direct line of view. Her face was that of pure curiosity as she turned to look at them.

At Naruto.

Their eyes met and he froze. She seemed to take in his whole being without even losing eye connection. He took another step back and she tilted her head and smiled widely.

"Ooo, what's your name kid?" she asked.

"What's it to you?" Sasuke asked as both he and Sakura stepped in front of Naruto, before he could open his mouth.

Her eyes widened and she smiled wider. "Well isn't that sweet?" she told them as she stepped closer, and they got into ready positions.

"Keep going." The ninja behind her ordered, but a look from the girl had him changing his attitude. "Please." He added.

"Of course, Aoba." She grinned at him. "See ya 'round, kid." She tossed over her shoulder as she resumed her promenade to her trial. They watched her as she was hauled off by the guards and let out the breaths they had been holding once she was out of ear shot.

* * *

That was the last they had seen or heard of her. A week had gone by and there was no official news, but there was gossip. Some said she had already been executed, others said she had escaped, a few thought she was being tortured, but most figured she was locked up somewhere in the village. 

"She's in there." Naruto murmured as they stopped outside the Hokage's office.

"What?" Sakura asked, looking from the door to Naruto's strained features. "Are you sure?"

"Even Naruto's not slow enough to forget that chakra signature. She's in there."

"Yeah…" Naruto agreed, but a second later Sasuke's words clicked in his head. "Wait, what did you say?"

"So…you don't want to go in?" Sakura asked him slowly, only to receive an angry look in respond.

"I'm not afraid of some stupid woman. The Hokage wants us and I'm not going to let her stop me." Marching in front of the two he grabbed the doorknob and entered. The group froze just inside the door.

The young woman was sitting in the middle of the room, shackled to a chair. She had been cleaned up since last they saw her. She was no longer covered in blood, her hair had been combed, and her torn bloody clothes had been replaced with a nondescript gray kimono that looked prison-issued.

She sat in the chair comfortingly and in a relaxed position as she rocked her head and tapped her foot to unheard music. She didn't seem aware of their presence as she hummed, nor did she seem to care that she was chained to a chair.

As they stared at her, they weren't aware of anyone else in the room until the Third cleared his throat and got their attention.

"Lord Hokage." They greeted giving him a brief bow.

"You asked to see us, sir?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, I did. You s-" the Hokage.

"Hey, why is she still here? Didn't she kill all those people?" Naruto interrupted loudly, jerking a thumb at the humming girl.

"She neither admits nor denies and there's not really a way to find out for sure. The attacks were far between and never consistent. She was found covered in blood and carrying a sword, but none of the bodies have markings that matched her weapon. Therefore we cannot execute her, nor can we allow her to leave. This is where you three come in. She is not to wander the village alone and needs twenty-four hour surveil-"

"You want us to baby-sit!" Naruto accused him with an annoyed expression on his face.

"_Guard_ her, Naruto. Make sure she doesn't endanger the villagers and keep her from escaping."

"But what about when we train with Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura voiced.

"Take her with you. Under no circumstances is she to be left alone."

"Does Kakashi-sensei have to do this too?" Sasuke spoke up.

"Of course. He's already been briefed on the situation. He's the one who volunteered your team."

"Figures." Naruto muttered.

"When do we start?" Sasuke asked.

"Tomorrow morning, enough time for you to adjust your schedule for her?" The Hokage answered with a small smile.

Team 7 were anything but happy. They had gotten crappy missions before, but this took the cake. They had to baby-sit a grown woman who was probably a mass murderer. As they began to leave they could just imagine all the fun they were going to have.

"Bye Naruto…see you tomorrow." A voice, higher and softer of that of the Hokage's, sounded off behind.

Stiffening, Naruto slowly turned around to face the young woman. She had stopped her humming and her foot was still now. Slowly, her head fell backwards and her hair draped downwards, giving her a comical look. Her eyes were over-bright. She smiled widely and waved her arm in the air, making the chain rattle. Naruto sped out of the room and the woman's echoing laugh following him down the stairs.


	3. Chp 2

**IMPORTANT/FUTURE OF STORY: **

Lately, I have been thinking of **discontinuing **my **fics**.

I just haven't been in a writing mood lately. Every time I start, I get discouraged and sidetracked. I'm either using my time for my artwork, or I'm working on my original stories, and I find myself just wanting to stop fanficiton.

At first I was just planning of going on a hiatus, but the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of just stopping. But I will not be deleting my stories off the site or off my computer, for I may comeback one day. But until then...it was nice writing for you.

_Courtney _

**

* * *

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**Chp 2. A Miko's Rhapsody**

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* * *

**

She didn't remember falling asleep.

She didn't remember when she had stopped smiling.

All she knew now was the coldness of the windowless room they had confined her to, and the uncomfortable cot she now lay in…thinking about death.

Not the event, but the being…she had made up her mind a while ago…she was going to kill him. She felt a chill roll down her back as she thought this again. She smiled. Every time she thought about killing Death, that chill would run through her. She knew it was him, he knew she knew, and she ignored him. She would make him pay one day.

He had turned her into a monster, and his creation would be his downfall.

Just like Frankenstein.

As the thought left her, she managed to smile and frown at the same time. '_Did Frankenstein kill his master…wait…Did Frankenstein's monster kill Dr. Frankenstein?'_ that was the question.

'_Strange_.' She thought, _'I've never seen or read Frankenstein, but I know there was a Frankenstein monster and a doctor Frankenstein. I guess it's just __one of those things you don't have to know to know. Like unicorns, no one has seen one, yet everyone knows what they look like and that they favor virgins. Wait, I have seen a Frankenstein movie…only it was a comedy with Gene Wilder. I liked him in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. He was in quite a few movies with Richard Pryor. I liked him too. What in the world is that above my head? Is that a flying rat? Oh, no…it's the world's biggest mutated rat spider hybrid…and it's dead. Dead? Dead…Death! I am going to kill him._' Again that shiver ran down her back and she smiled broadly. _'And I will do it with a smile.'_

The door opened and one of the ninja's who had captured her stood there with a grim face. "It's time to go, Ms. Doe."

Jane Doe. She had never given a name. Smiling to herself, she hopped to her feet and stood obediently as they chained her up for transportation. Being Jane Doe was fun and all, but she'd rather be known…she would tell somebody her name…somebody…definitely Naruto for sure.

* * *

"I love the fact that children are talking about me as if I wasn't here. That's just adorable." 

Team seven froze mid-argue. For the past 15 minutes or so, they had been arguing about whether to take individual turns watching their Jane Doe, or if they should stay in a group. Neither possibility was desired by all.

During the gist of this all, Kagome had been amused and entertained by most of this but now she had begun to drift, and she didn't like her mind to drift…it lead to things.

"We're not children." The little raven haired one spoke up in an annoyed tone.

She smiled at the malice in his voice. So young to be so angry…he'd get over it one day…whatever it was.

"You look like kids to me." Kagome replied as she bent down and attempted to pinch his cheeks, but laughed instead as he slapped her hand away.

"We're ninja." Naruto added with a large smile, but as she rounded on him he dropped it and looked away.

"You're finally talking to me?" Kagome asked him with a grin. As long as they had been together, Naruto had never actually addressed her directly. "I'm beginning to think you don't like me. Maybe, even afraid of me?" Reaching a hand out to grab at the blonde, Kagome's hand was stopped by the pink haired girl.

"That's because you're a murderer." Pinky replied stoically.

"Am I?" Kagome laughed as she snatched her hand back and stood up to her full height, laughing loudly.

"Well…aren't you?" Pinky asked, this time a crack showing in her attitude.

She put her arms behind her back, the shackles had been removed the moment she set foot outside, what she assumed, was the jail, and the chafing had been since healed, and she smiled.

"Depends…" Kagome answered after a pause, and said no more after. She was done and dieing to wander the streets of the village. She abruptly spun on her heel to enter the market, but found herself face to chest with a body. The sight of it sickened her and she didn't know why.

"Iruka-sensei!" she heard Naruto yell excitedly behind her and she grinned at his enthusiasm. This person couldn't be bad if the kit liked him with such vigor. Smile still in place, she looked up to catch sight of the person who owned the chest in her face.

She found him cute, but she laughed, aloud, at how such things didn't immediately register with her anymore. At the look he gave her, one of suspicion, unease, and maybe a bit of fear, she laughed even harder and stepped to the side and out of his way, laughing as she went.

"Naruto," Iruka started with a pleasant disposition, though he kept a sturdy account on Kagome's position, "I was just wondering if you and your team would mind accompanying me for lunch? It'll be my treat."

"Hey, Yea…" Naruto began excitedly but was interrupted by an agitated Sasuke.

"No thank you." Sasuke implied forcefully, knowing that Iruka had only arrived to keep an eye out on their assignment, thinking they couldn't handle the Jane Doe on their own. "We have an assignment to do, and we don't have time to…"

"As my memory recalls, little master," Kagome interrupted with a grin as she came to stand over the ebony haired lad, "the old man stated that you three were to guard me. I remember nothing about having children order me around all day. You guard me, I do whatever…and I want to do what Naruto wants now, and to me he seems to want to eat with scar nose. So….what do you think we're going to do today?"

Sasuke was seething with cold anger, that, everyone could tell. How dare this woman speak to him in such a way, and challenge him in front of everyone? But as he held her gaze, her unwavering, unstable eyes challenging him, he hesitated. Those eyes. Eyes that belonged to one with a close relationship with death. Whether from sending souls to meet the reaper, or, the eyes of death itself, and they were transfixed on him. He broke contact with an inner shudder, disgusted with himself.

"Fine." He muttered nonchalantly with a bored flippant of his hand.

Smiling sweetly, Kagome patted him on the head just to anger him more. "You're so cute when you're accommodating."

Holding down a growl, Sasuke stepped out of reach, giving her a deadly glare.

Kagome found this cute, and told him so, much to his annoyance, as it reminded her of Shippo when he was trying to act fierce. But this time it was different, this kid was fierce, and she knew it, but it didn't stop her from provoking him more as she took a step towards him.

"This way Ms. Doe." Iruka said firmly as he grabbed the woman's arm and faced her towards the Ramen Bar, and gave her a little push to get her going.

Not sparing any of them a second glance, their Jane Doe began to sashay down the street, looking as if she knew exactly where she was going.

* * *

"Maybe you'd like to taste your food before swallowing it next time, Naruto." Sakura reprimanded the hyper blonde after watching him swallow two bowls of ramen. 

After catching up with their Jane Doe and ushering her towards the ramen shop, Iruka had set them down at a booth while he ordered. Sakura was semi-happy with the seating arrangements, sure she was sitting next to her beloved Sasuke, but then there was Naruto, who sat on her other side, and that woman, the Jane Doe, the murderer, sitting directly across from Sasuke, who hadn't taken his eyes off the deranged woman since they left for the bar. Fortunately, the look he was giving her was a glare, and Jane hadn't paid him any mind, just merely stared into the slightly mirrored effect of the table.

Kagome hadn't seen herself in a while. She hadn't seen her reflection ever since death had robbed her. What she saw frightened her. Never one to fret over her looks, Kagome was appalled at what she saw. Her hair was straggly and hung limply against her frame, her skin was pale, nearly transparent from the way her veins were visible, she had smudges on her face from who knows what, and looking down she saw that her nails were long and filthy, but the most shocking feature were her eyes. Was that the look she gave everyone, is that what they saw? The look would have frightened the old Kagome, hell, that look would have frightened Sesshomaru, well, maybe just Inuyasha. She smiled at old memories and at her horrid reflection…she would make Death pay.

Iruka sat in the midst of this, looking from the disgusted look on Sakura's face, to Sasuke's unfaltering gaze on Jane Doe, to Naruto's obliviousness to everything as he devoured his food, to Jane Doe herself, who was twirling her hair in her hands as she stared at her reflection with a twisted smile, and finally to his watch. '_Where was Kakashi?_'

"Perhaps we should…" Iruka began only to be interrupted by Jane Doe as she sat up straight and spread her arms out on the back of the seat.

"I wish to go take a bath." When she spoke, she addressed them all, but her eyes trailed over to meet Sasuke's, daring him to make a fuss again.

"We don't have time," he began in a bored manner, "…so we won't stay long."

"Thank you." Kagome replied with a smile as she reclined in her spot and surveyed her surroundings through the strings of hair on her face.

While she remained quiet, Kagome's mind drifted. It drifted past the people sitting with her eating and talking quietly, except the brooding prince in front of her, past the noise of the Ramen shop, and into the streets of the village. And she came to a conclusion: there were some really weird people in this village. She saw young people with white hair, although they had no demon auras, she saw bushy browed nerdy children, she saw a child acting like a dog, she saw obese kids walking around with obviously uninspired kids, she saw people without pupils, and she saw an eccentric blonde girl nearly go crazy, but they all had power. She felt it, strong auras, just under the surface. They were all, no; most of the people in this village were ninjas. She thought it funny and laughed aloud.

'_Kagome_.'

She stopped laughing abruptly, and tilted her head to the side, listening. She stayed that way for a good minute, but never heard it again. He wasn't looking for her just yet, he was too far off, and he was only seeing if she was still in this universe. She was, and she smiled. A grim smile.

"Ms. Doe?"

Kagome was startled out of her thoughts by the pink haired girl calling her name. She turned to look at her quizzically.

"Didn't you want to go to the bathhouse?" Sakura asked.

Looking around and seeing that they were all finish, she smiled broadly. "I thought you'd never finish."

* * *

"Wow!" 

If she had the capability, Kagome would have blushed at Naruto's little slip up. But she didn't, and so, laughed.

On leaving the ramen shop, they had immediately gone to the bathhouse, which, on Kagome's arrival, became vacant. She had ignored the women as they hurried past her, she hadn't notice that the girl had come in to keep an eye on her, and she hadn't realized how much tension she held until she had fully submerged herself in the hot water. The joys of indoor plumbing. She didn't remember the last time she had taken a bath, let alone a hot one. To her over-enthusiastic delight, she found shampoo that someone had left behind and quickly put it to use.

The girl didn't join her in the tub, but chose to stand by the door, her back facing Kagome's way.

"Hey, kid," Kagome called out as she lathered herself up, "…what's your name?"

She got no answer, and when things like this used to annoy her, she merely giggled in response.

"Not going to talk to me eh? What? Don't tell me you're going to do me like my little Naruto out there?"

The girl stiffened up.

"That Naruto…he's a cute kid, cute. Not like little prince out there…that kid's a real hearth-throb…don't you think?" After seeing Pinky's reaction, Kagome decided she had hit a pretty sore spot and so continued to prod it.

"Just wait until he hits puberty, oh, they're going to line up and he's going to knock'em down. Future wife-beater if I ever saw one…"

"Sasuke's not like that!" Pinky yelled in his defense as she spun on her heel to face Kagome defiantly. But upon seeing Kagome's smiling face she blushed and calmed down before turning her back to her once again. Kagome thought she was about to let on the silent treatment again, but to her surprise, Pinky began to speak.

"He…he's just had some tragedy in his life and needs someone to help him through it."

"And you're going to be that person?" Kagome ventured.

"I like to think so." Pinky offered after a pause, only to have Kagome laugh at her in return.

"And what's so funny?" Pinky yelled angrily, as she spun around again.

"You remind me of myself so much it's scary!" Kagome laughed and offered no more.

Sakura didn't know whether to be confused at the unanswered question, disgusted with the comparison, or relieved that Jane Doe had finally stopped talking to her.

And so the two had finished Kagome's bath in silence, and on exiting the eerily quiet building, the two's silence was interrupted by Naruto's exclamation on their Jane Doe's ability to clean up…and clean up well she did.

"Why thank you, Naruto. I haven't had one of those types of compliments in a while." Kagome felt like a new woman. Her hair had been washed, and now resided in a wet ponytail, her skin and nails had been scrubbed clean, and she no longer wondered if she stunk or not.

And to top it all off, she new an appreciative glance when she got one, and despite recent, or non-recent she didn't know, she felt a little pride.

"Now that you're satisfied, it's time to go." Sasuke ordered, and if it hadn't been for her stubbornness, his attitude, her loss of sanity, and him being a kid, she would have done what he said. But there were if's, and she was bored, and he still was a kid.

"I would rather play tag." Smiling, Kagome stood still, waiting for her words to register in their minds, and when it did and they turned towards her with a collection of mixed expressions, she smiled broadly and slapped Sasuke on the arm.

"You're it!" she yelled before taking off down the busy street with three ninja children following angrily behind her.

Kagome had clearly underestimated the mini-ninjas. Ninja's, she knew, were fast and stealthy, but she hadn't known to what extent. If she had been a youkai, they would have been no match, but she was only the mate of a youkai and was only just matched. She had nearly been caught four times.

This new knowledge didn't stop her from have fun though, by far, she was having the time of her life. She had long abandoned running the streets, and had taken to roof hopping instead. The roofs of the village, though less crowded, were a bit more hazardous. The varying in heights caused for sudden drops, scampering up walls, and slamming into buildings. The difference in roofs was also a bit tedious; tile, slanting roofs were slippery and caused tripping; but flat roofs were the best.

They were sneaky little devils, with sneaky little devil tricks, Kagome soon realized about her pursuers. She had been many places and come across many types of beings, so she wasn't terribly surprised when a fireball hit her square in the back. It burned, but it was only sent to knock her down, so it healed instantly, but it didn't stop her from falling off the roof, or from her pursuers throwing kunais at her.

As she fell backwards, she saw an amazing sight above her: there were a countless number of Narutos descending on her, Sasuke was spitting fireballs, and Sakura was throwing kunais so fast that she didn't see them until they were upon her.

They were good, she had to admit, but she was to crazy to die, cursed to live, and death was still alive and she had to kill him, besides…she was having too much fun.

She landed on the streets below, people screaming around her, and as her body bounced from the impact, she flipped onto her feet and as they touched dirt, she was off and running down the street, three ninja children on her tail.

"Come on you can do better than that. This is tag, not follow the leader." Kagome chided over her shoulder, before turning to face them and running backward.

"You just wait until I get my hands on you." Naruto threatened, and Kagome laughed, he was actually mad.

"Why so angry, kit?" Kagome laughed.

"Because of you, we're going to be late and we don't have time for games."

"There's always time for games." Kagome replied as she turned back towards back around just as Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of her, kunai poised in his hand, ready to strike.

"Game over." He told her as he tossed his weapon.

"For you maybe." She replied, catching the missile just before it could enter her chest and positioning herself to tackle the raven haired boy. But before she could lay a finger on him, she was suddenly grabbed from behind by someone much bigger and stronger than any of the kids.

Her arms were locked behind her and an arm had been thrown under her neck.

"That's enough of that." A deep, bored sounding voice spoke up.

"I wasn't going to do anything, we were just playing." She argued with a laugh as the kunai dropped from her hand and she smiled at the annoyed Sasuke.

"Hm…be that as it may, they need to train, and for once, I wasn't late." Kakashi said as he slipped the shackles back onto Jane Doe's person.


	4. Chp 3

**AN: Guess who came ack early. The thing is, this is my favorite story and I can't stop now, and, when writing my original story, I realized I need practice writing about some of my characters, and so any fics I update will feature cameos from my Og's, I have a list of the ones you'll be seeing in my profile.**

* * *

Chp.3 Down Time

* * *

Kagome was ecstatic! Not only did she just had one of the best games of tag ever, but now she found herself handcuffed and squatting on the forest floor, surrounded by different versions of her friends.

They were all there, she couldn't see some of them now because they were busy training somewhere off in the woods but Miroku was there.

Her new Miroku sat lazily a ways off reading a perverted book, clearly identifying him as the Miroku of the group.

Of course, Naruto was her new Shippo, his hyperness evident as he bounded around quickly on all fours, laughing and talking loudly. _And_ because he had that fox's aura, but it was only just a perk.

She had already identified pinky as herself. Loving the quiet, angry, brooding male of the group, despite his lack of interest back. The girl, she saw, had a gentle and caring soul, like she used to have, but also knew when to yell and get angry when the time called for it. She smiled at the resemblance.

Evidently Sasuke was Inuyasha. If the two had been blindfolded and put into a cave, they would've thought they had been hearing an echo. Yes, Inuyasha was rasher and cursed like a sailor, and Sasuke barely opened his mouth, but the attitudes were uncanny. They would have hated each other.

That meant she was the only one left, and since the role of Kagome was already taken, she would be Sango. She laughed at loud as the realization hit her. She was Sango! She couldn't even be herself, she was Sango. But then again, the two were similar now. Her family was dead; Sango's family had been killed; she was trying to kill her undead friends; Sango wanted to rescue her undead bother from the clutches of Naraku; they were similar now. She laughed aloud again.

"_Oh_...I made myself sad." she muttered as her situation hit her again. She was going to make death pay. That familiar chill down her spine brought her cheery mood back.

She felt like talking to her new Miroku, she hadn't talked to him since he stopped her from playing with Mini-Yasha.

Her feet and hands were cuffed, she didn't feel like getting up, and she was bored; so Kagome rolled and tumbled over to where Miroku sat, reading some book called '_Make Out Paradise_'.

As she came to a stop in front of him, he looked up at her curiously. Not wanting to be rude, Kagome smiled widely.

"Hi." she said in greeting.

"Hello." he responded after a pause, and as she merely smiled at him, he went back to his book.

"So...you going to grope me or not?"

If he had possessed less control, Kakashi would have dropped his book in shock. Never before, had he had this asked to him.

He looked at her over the top of his book. He could play this game too.

"Do you want me to?"

Kagome leaned in close, and her smile dropped. "I'm not sure, so I'll get back to you on that." Smiling widely again, Kagome decided she had had enough of talking to this Miroku, and decided to see how many back flips she could do while sitting Indian style. And Kakashi went back to his book.

* * *

Kagome had been sleep when the kids had finished training, but now that she was back in her holding room, she was wide awake and not in the least bit happy. 

It happened every now and then. It might come as a stray thought, a dream, or else she'd see something that would remind her of them. But every now and then, Kagome would drift back into reality, and the truth of her situation would hit her again and she would spiral into depression.

She never cried. Although her throat would swell with the need, and she moaned and sob; no tears would come. After a while, she would grow quiet as anger would set in. Anger at herself, the jewel, and the Grim Reaper. So when the ninja came in to escort her outside, she declined and was left alone to smolder.

While asleep, she had had a dream about the old days, and she had relieved her whole experience. There were slight differences, like; her friends voices were sometimes switched up, the grass was purple, Sesshoumaru always wore outlandish outfits, the scenes were sometimes featuring warped backgrounds or figures, and for some reason there seemed to be a butterfly fluttering around everywhere.

And despite these peculiarities, she also dreamed of her time with Kouga, and when the little ninjas had woken her from her slumber, she felt an ache in her heart that she hadn't felt before.

With a sick jolt, she realized she hadn't actually mourned the lost of her husband and mate. She had mourned the loss of her son, still mourned him whenever she heard a baby or saw a mother and child together. She had mourned her friends the night they were killed, she had brought them back to life and not him. She hadn't once thought about him, and now that she did, she hurt with the pain of missing him.

She had thought she had loved him less than Inuyasha, she had thought wrong. She loved the prince, she loved him fully and whole-heartedly, it was just too late. She had thought that because Inuyasha was her first love, that he was her only love and that Kouga was a replacement. she had thought that just because she had never let Inuyasha go, that she had never loved, _would_ never love another. She had been wrong. She had been stupid. She had never given Kouga the love he deserved, and now it was too late. Too late for him, too late for her, too late for everyone, and it was all her fault. If she had been there, she could have protected them, if she wouldn't have let revenge cloud her judgment, her friends wouldn't have died, and if she hadn't have been so hasty, she would have purified the jewel before stealing from death.

But she did all that and now she was losing her mind, killing her friends, and traveling to all different dimensions all alone with no way to die.

'I won't let you.'

Her head jerked up at the voice, and met the glare of Sasuke.

"Say something, kid?" she asked lowly, her voice void of emotion.

If he was frightened by how she looked, he didn't show it, infact, he smirked at her.

"You don't get to decide whether or not you come out or not. The whole point of making us your escorts was to try to gather info on you to see if you really are the killer."

Kagome felt her smile returning. "What do you think?" she asked, lifting her head to look at him.

He smiled back, but it was anything but pleasant, yet, neither was hers. "I think you need to come with me."

"You? What about my little Naruto?"

Sasuke's smile dropped, "He's not your anything, and it's just me."

"Really?" Kagome asked as she hopped to her feet and lurked over to where he stood. "Now what if I decide I've had enough of this village and decide to leave? Would you be capable of handling me?"

"I'm more than capable." He replied, stepping up to her unspoken challenge.

"Good." she cheered happily as she pinched his cheek. "I'd hate to be disappointed."

Not waiting for his snappy comeback, Kagome left him behind as she walked out of the room. After watching her walk ahead of him for a few seconds, Sasuke took back control by pulling her back behind him so that he could lead. She let him out of amusement. It wasn't until they got outside that an argument over dominance started up again. Where were they going to go?

He didn't have to go training with Kakashi that day, Naruto was with Iruka, and Sakura had gone somewhere with Ino and her other friends, so it was just the two of them and neither was willing to compromise. So they ended up sitting on a bench the entire time.

Kagome didn't mind sitting on the bench. She still hadn't fully recovered from her dream and was silent the entire time as she stared up into the sky. She ignored the many looks that was sent her way, she ignored anyone who came to talk with Sasuke, and she ignored him, much to his annoyance, whenever he made a move to leave.

"You are infuriating, did you know that?" The little ninja said flatly after a moment of silence, which only ended with her laughing at him.

"You don't seem like a killer. You looked like one when they brought you in, but you don't act like it."

"I know." she giggled in reply, but shut up soon after as anger drifted over her. Sasuke caught the change.

"Who are you?"

"You're the wrong one to be asking."

"Oh, and who should be asking?" he asked with a frown, and as she grinned down at him, his frown deepened.

"What's your fixation with him?"

His answer was a bark of laughter. "Why so curious? Jealous?"

"Hardly." was his reply.

"Good job, Little Prince." She congratulated, pinching his cheek again, only to have him slap it away angrily.

"Stop touching me." He growled.

She laughed at him. "You're unpleasant to be around, you know that?"

"Doesn't surprise me."

"Yeah, you better do something about that, your soul is starting to stink."

"What are you talking about?" He asked as he turned to look at her. "What do you mean _my soul stinks_?"

"Exactly what I said. Your soul stinks, Little Prince."

"How would you know?"

"Because I smell souls." She answered, putting a quiver into her voice as she leaned in close to him. "And yours is starting to smell bad, you better do something about it or else you're going to turn into a _monster_."

"And your soul smells like a batch of roses?" He challenged, trying to keep any emotion from his voice.

"No." She answered, giving him no more. "Want to play a game?"

"No." he told her, relieved that she was finally backing off.

"I'll play." a new voice volunteered.

"The invitation didn't extend to anyone else." Kagome told him, as they both turned to see Kakashi crouching on the wall behind him.

"Isn't he a bit young to play with?" Kakashi offered as an answer.

Kagome's grin sharpened and she stood up to his unspoken challenge to her character. "What makes you think I'd want to play with you?"

Kakashi shrugged in reply. "Could be fun. You might enjoy it."

Kagome's smile spread from ear to ear. He _was _her new Miroku.

"Okay then, you can play."

"What's the name of the game?" This came from Sasuke.

Kagome smiled down at him, maybe he could save his soul after all. "Good job. The name of the game is..."

.' 

The call of the evil pervert. Kagome froze, he was getting closer. It was almost time to leave this place. And she had yet to spend time with Naruto.

"The game is called, Hide-n-Seek. And...not it!" Not waiting to see their reaction, Kagome took off running into the village, her intentions, to lose the ninjas and find Naruto.

She was running out of time, and if she didn't leave soon, Miroku would be there, and that's one thing that stayed the same about her, she didn't like putting innocents into danger.

She ran this way and that way, trying to lose them. They were good, she had to admit, but she had Kouga's stamina on her side and a disregard for her body's limit. She didn't even head towards the roofs this time, she was in the midst of all the villagers. It was harder to maneuver, but easier to hide and escape. Every now and then she'd catch a glimpse of one of her chasers, but she easily evaded them by abruptly changing directions.

She had come to realize, during her time jumping dimensions, that she loved to run. She couldn't remember if she had enjoyed it when she was with Inuyasha, not that she got too much practice; with Inuyasha always giving her a piggy back ride, or if it was another trait inherited from Kouga, which was very likely. Whatever the cause, now that her mind held no boundaries, she often had no qualms about bursting into a random sprint.

But ever so often, something happened and the need to run would abruptly leave, such as the case when she came across Naruto walking alone in the street.

"Hey, kid." She greeted as she halted by his side and spun on her heel to walk with him. A half second later, Sasuke, who hadn't been expecting the sudden stop, ran into Kagome and fell to the ground Kagome remarkably held her ground.

"That's embarrassing." Kagome remarked, as she stared down at the red faced Uchiha, and Naruto openly laughed at his misfortune.

"I see you've found what you want." Sasuke muttered with all his dignity in full blow as he picked himself up.

"What ever do you mean?" Kagome asked innocently.

"Why don't you ask her; who she is?" Sasuke ordered the confused blonde.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Fine." Naruto snapped, angry at being bossed around by Sasuke. "Who are you?"

"A bored girl." Kagome answered as she looked around boredly. "Let's go do something fun."

"Like what?" Naruto asked, ignoring a fuming Sasuke.

Kagome stood thoughtful for a moment as she examined her hands. She knew for a fact that Sasuke wasn't going to leave her alone with Naruto, and she knew that anything she suggested as fun would be considered unsafe and deranged, which it was, so her mind came up with something both constructive and fun to herself. She smiled and then yawned.

"Let's go to your training ground, I need a bit of excercise."

"Excercise? You just ran wild around the whole village, how much more excercise do you need?" Sasuke, forever the pessimist, demanded.

"Not that kind of excercise, sweetheart."

* * *

"What is she doing?" Naruto asked after he and Sasuke had been watching Jane Doe maneuver around the training ground for a while. 

"How am I suppose to know? She's out of her mind."

"Hey!" Naruto yelled at her. "What are you doing?"

Kagome had ignored the boys for the most of her excercise, she had even ignored the older ninjas who had come to spy on her. She was busy fuming over Death and her lack of powers. He had taken them from her.

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

She hadn't thought about her miko powers until after her run in with the kids in the village. She had expected to come to the forest and possibly frighten them with her foreign powers. But as she tried to summon them, she was left abandoned in her familiar pose. No powers and her anger returned. She tried time and time again to summon them but nothing happened.

She thought angrily as she finally stopped her unresponisve summoning. 

"What is your problem?" Naruto yelled angrily again, finally gaining her attention.

Maybe she needed a demon to practice on. She tilted her head in contemplation as a smile crept onto her face.

"That is seriously creepy." Naruto mumbled under his breath to Sasuke, who inwardly agreed.

"I need someone to practice on...KAKASHI!"

"Why is she..."Sasuke began, wondering why she had suddenly yelled out his teachers name, but as the whitehaired man instantly appeared, he got his answer.

Kagome smiled at him. She like the one eyed ninja, and it wasn't because he had white hair. His attitude just agreed with her. He was an interesting man to behold.  
He looked and acted the part of a lazy good for nothing who was obsessed with porn. But his soul said differently. It spoke of power and resourcefulness, and she wanted a wack at him.

"Hey, buddy, I need a sparring partner. You in?"

Everyone, including the other hidden ninjas, waited a few seconds as Kakashi evidently ran something through his head, maybe even something that didn't have to do with Jane Doe's challenge, but after a few seconds, in which some people were becoming annoyed, he agreed.

"Great." Kagome cheered happily as she began stretching, provacatively some might say, or just the one person, and smiled widely. "Whoa, think I just broke something! Let's go!"

And smiling like nothing happen, Kagome got into a fighting stance and began to laugh, Kakashi, she saw, hadn't moved an inch. She laughed again, she didn't know what she was going to do.


	5. Chp 4

* * *

**Chp. 4 Escape**

* * *

"That's embarrassing." Sasuke stated dryly when Kagome finally landed near enough to them to be heard. 

"Not in the least." Kagome answered with a bark of laughter, not moving from where she had fallen.

She wasn't sure how long she and Kakashi had been sparring, well, how long Kakashi had been throwing her around, but she did know one thing. Her miko powers were gone. And that meant, that _she_ was gone. Her powers were all that she had left. All that was of the old Kagome.

She wondered when they left. Did they gradually diminish over time? Were they taken when Death kissed her? What happened? When exactly, did she become a handicapped miko? Could she even be considered a miko anymore? She was nothing. A walking nothing. She even wondered if she had actually died on that battle field all that time ago, and this was her punishment in hell.

She laughed bitterly before finally sitting up, ignoring the pain in her body, the dirt and debris that fell from her hair, and the disappointment she felt radiating from her onlookers. They had been expecting more of a fight from the supposed killer. But they could crumble into dust for all the attention she paid to them, she was in the middle of a crisis, and was laughing about it.

Despite her best efforts, and long time self discipline, Kagome pulled the shikon jewel from under her shirt and began rolling it around in her hand. It was a semblance of her life now. It, like her friends, was dead now, but no matter the pain on her part, it still had a hold on her. It was dead, but wouldn't let her go. Like Death.

She clenched the jewel in sudden anger. She was going to make him pay.

"I think you've had enough." Kakashi told her after the others had left and they were alone.

"I've long since had enough . . . " Kagome muttered in response as she tucked the Shikon back under her shirt. As enthralled with her thought as she was, she didn't notice Naruto until a pair of blue sandals had stepped into her view.

Looking up at him, she saw that he was looking her dead in the eye as he offered his hand to help her up. It seemed, that after watching her get beat up by his teacher, that all fear he had was now a thing of the past.

She looked at the offered hand and hesitated in thought. There was still one way of testing her powers, but were testing her powers worth the risk of hurting the kid.

She ran the thought through her mind, as best she could, and she reached up for his hand, but before she could grab it, Kakashi had intercepted it and hoisted her up himself.

As she righted herself, she stared suspiciously up into his eye. But all she got in return was a blank expression. She wasn't sure if he had suspicions of her thoughts or not.

"You're not the killer, are you?" Naruto stated after a few seconds, pushing all thought of suspicion out of her mind as she focused on the little ninja.

"Depends." She answered with a shrug, liking to keep herself a mystery.

"Depends on what?" Sasuke asked with a scowl.

"On what he means by killer." She said this with full acknowledgment that they were all staring at her, especially Kakashi who hadn't stopped since he helped her up.

"Are you the guy who slaughtered all those villages?" Naruto suggested with annoyance evident in his voice.

"It wasn't a whole lot of villages slaughtered, but it was a whole lot of village women. Mainly the pretty ones." She ended this in a whisper as she became distracted by the most interesting looking butterfly she ever had the privilege of seeing. It seemed to radiate every color as it moved, but as she focused on it, it seemed to be made of mainly hues of blue.

"I feel like dancing." She whispered loud enough so that everyone heard. "What?" She asked after noticing everyone staring at her.

"Are you the killer or not?" Naruto growled at her, making her laugh at him.

"Well then . . . let me think, no, I'm not."

"So you're not the killer?" Sasuke asked her for confirmation.

"Yes." She answered, turning to face Kakashi who had yet to speak or even look away from her. If he wanted a staring contest then he would get one.

"Just answer the question!" Sasuke yelled at her.

"I already did." She replied as a small smile slipped onto her face, her eyes never leaving Kakashi's one.

"My head hurts." Naruto growled, putting a hand to his head, while Sasuke fumed at Kagome, who was no longer paying him any attention.

"Are you the killer or not?"

"Yes, I'm not _the_ killer."

"Then why were you captured? Why didn't you deny the charges?"

"Because I was at the scene of the last massacre, covered in blood and with a bloody sword in my hand, and no one else was around."

"But why didn't you say you didn't do it?" Naruto demanded of her, not sure why anyone in their right mind would want to be charged with a series of murders, but in his wondering, he answered his own question.

"Because I . . . _'was alone and needed to be surrounded by people'_ . . .was bored."

"Bored?" Naruto yelled, not believing his ears. "What are you crazy?"

His only answer was for her smile to widen.

"Well if you aren't the killer, then who are you?"

Kagome finally broke eye contact as she rounded on the little ninja with eyes shining with delight. Finally, he had asked the right question.

"Finally! Finally someone asked me who I am! I'm so happy!"

"I already asked you that." Sasuke told her, his voice giving a slight hint of annoyance.

"By someone, I meant the Kit," Kagome answered him with a smile that never reached her eyes, "not the Prince."

"Hey, why is he the Prince and I'm the Kid?" Naruto interrupted the silent battle, as he grabbed Kagome's arm and forced her to look at him.

"I don't know." she answered with a shrug, as her attention was drawn towards the village. "You just are who you are, no one knows but

you."

"That's dumb! What do you mean, _'You don't know'_, you're the one who gave us the nicknames."

"No, you were already Kit and Prince," she answered as she began to wander off towards the village, "it's your inner-nature, I had no part in this bit of randomness."

"Where do you think you're going?" Sasuke asked, catching her arm just as she was about to run.

"Yeah, you still haven't told us your name." Naruto added.

Kakashi said nothing, only watched in anticipation.

Kagome graced him with a smile, and just as she was about to tell him, her face darkened with anger. She couldn't remember. For a whole moment, she forgot her name, it only lasted a few seconds, but it was long enough.

A sneer appeared on her face as she cursed Death, but the sneer was soon replaced with a genuine smile as she suddenly found herself flanked by mysterious ninja's in masks.

"What's all this about?" Kakashi asked, finally breaking his silence as two of the masked Ninja disappeared with Jane Doe in their clutches. He directed his question at the remaining one.

"Her presence is required by the Hokage. That is all." With his parting comment, the ninja disappeared. Leaving confusion and annoyance in his wake.

* * *

She was being tortured. 

That was all Kagome could think of. The ninja's were trying to torture information out of her.

She laughed at their feeble attempt.

She had been locked away for days. Alone in a cold, dank cell with no human contact. The cell only contained a bug infested cot and a filthy toilet. She hadn't been fed or given water. The only light source came from a single, barred window that was too high to reach. During the day, the cell became unbearably hot, and the cemented walls and floor would sear her with their touch, but at night she would violently shake from the cold as her body would become painfully numb.

And that was all.

That was all they could think of. She laughed again and laughed even harder when she remembered why she was in this predicament.

Miroku had been busy. Three more villages had been attacked while she lay dormant in their village. Now the killings were slowly getting closer to their quiet little nest. They knew she wasn't the killer now. They had offered apologies before asking her the questions.

The questions that ended her in a torture cellar.

They asked who she was.

She said she was nothing.

They asked her if she knew who the killer was.

She laughed and said yes.

They asked her who it was.

She only laughed harder.

They asked why they were killing.

She laughed hysterically.

They asked if she had anything to do with it.

She sobered up and looked her main interrogator in the eye. He flinched at the contact. She said she had everything to do with it.

The room went into an uproar. More questions were thrown at her left and right.

She didn't laugh anymore. She merely smiled wildly as she lounged in her chair, looking at the ceiling and ignoring them completely.

She idly wondered how long it would take them to notice she should have died from dehydration and lack of food. She wondered if she stayed quiet if they would forget about her and discover, years later, that she still lived.

She laughed at the thought, staring at the moonlight that streamed through her sole window. For a moment, she thought she saw the silhouette of a man suddenly appear, but it had only been a butterfly, it's outline displayed in moonlight, as it fluttered in and out.

She was moving even before she had made up her mind. She wanted out.

She didn't even bother with discretion as she noisily drug the cot under the window. Even with it's help she was too short to reach the windowsill. But by standing it upright, she just barely grasped the bars before it fell to the floor with a deafening clang. But the deed was done, she now grasped freedom tightly in her hands. The only problem she faced now was getting through the bars.

They were probably five inches or so apart, give or take a few centimeters, and she knew nothing on her body was five inches wide. The only things she could easily get through were her arms and legs, but she needed all of her out.

If she had had any sense, she would have known that act was impossible. If she had been in her right mind, she wouldn't have even tried. But she didn't have any sense, and she wasn't in her right mentality. Kagome had made up her mind, she was going through those bars. Even when she felt her skull cracking, she persisted. Even when she felt her collar bone become dislocated, she kept on. She didn't pause for a second when her ribs began breaking, nor did she flinch when her pelvis fractured. Except when she fell from the great height, and landed with a thud on the solid ground below, did she finally utter a sound.

She laughed softly to herself, breathing heavily through the pain as her body repaired itself. She laughed, because she was never doing that again…or just until she forgot this experience.

* * *

Life in the village was quite different at night, Kagome realized as she walked down the streets, occasionally peeking through the windows of the village's sleeping occupants. 

Under the cloudless sky, she felt a bit of a skip to her step as she wandered about. So high were her spirits that she randomly broke out into a run. Enjoying the fresh air on her face, she could vividly remember running with Kouga in the middle of the night. She had enjoyed those secret times with her wolf, though she knew that he only ran at half his usual haste to keep up with her.

She had always complained about holding him back, but he had always reassured her that he'd go as slow as a snail as long as they were crawling along together.

She smiled at the memory as she ran blindly through the village. And that's why she didn't see the ninja until she had knocked heads with him.

Down they went with a tangle of arms and legs, and as Kagome came up laughing, the ninja didn't stir a inch.

"Oops." she called out with a guffaw. Looking around for witnesses, Kagome grabbed the unconscious ninja by his legs and drug him into the nearest alley to hide.

It was her plan to leave the ninja there until someone found him, but just as she made it safely into the shadows, she found that her victimized ninja had arrived early. He was only the first of many, for now the street was suddenly flooded with the moving shadows. And with a quick look around she noticed that they also patrolled the roofs.

Two of she shadows almost saw her as they paused in front of her hiding spot. She silently slid deeper into the shadows as they did a quick surveillance of their surroundings.

"She couldn't have gotten far." one said, as the other nodded in agreement. "Let's go."

Kagome didn't start breathing again until the two had departed and she didn't start moving until the street was cleared. She smiled at the realization. They knew she had escaped and were after her already.

With the last bit of sense that she contained, Kagome thought out her predicament. Her conclusion was that she had to leave the village. Which meant no bonding with Naruto, and no fight with Sasuke. She was put off at the thought, but smiled again as she looked at the unconscious ninja at her feet.

She needed a disguise.

* * *

"So far, so good." Kagome muttered, running in the shadows of the village, trying to find a way out. 

The village was a buzz with silent activity. The ninja's were everywhere. She couldn't avoid them, but thankfully, the ninja's rarely communicated with each other. So far, she had remained inconspicuous, seeing but not being seen. But this was to be short lived, for she was growing bored with just sneaking around.

"I can't believe they let her escape!"

'Bingo' She halted in her tracks as the voice of a certain angry Kit hit her ears. She quickly ducked into a dark alley before she could be spotted. 

"You just wait till I get my hands on her. I'll show them how you keep a prisoner captive."

She smiled at his bravado as she peeked at them from around the corner. It was just the three of them, Kakashi nowhere to be seen. They stood in a circle, with their backs to each other. If any were to see her, it would be Sasuke.

"Really? Only a few days ago you were scared to death of her." The Dark Prince goaded, smirking to himself.

"Yeah, well…" Naruto stammered, "I wasn't afraid of her…I was just cautious."

"Cautiously afraid." Sakura managed to add before she burst into giggles and Sasuke to chuckle darkly.

The Kit growled in annoyance. "Shut up! I wasn't afraid okay?"

"Sure." they agreed in unison, much to Naruto's chagrin.

Kagome laughed at their little banter and almost stepped out, but before she could move an inch, her mask was suddenly snatched off of her head. She whirled around in surprised delight, a smile etched onto her face, but as she saw her aggressor, it widened.

"Kakashi! You put them out there as bait." she accused him.

The masked ninja shrugged nonchalantly. "I figured you'd stop for them."

"Good figuring!" She congratulate, grabbing him by his shoulders and forcing a kiss on his covered lips. She felt him stiffen in shock, and she smiled against him. Putting a hand up against his face, she quickly broke the kiss and bashed his head up against the wall.

"I knew his perversion would get the best of him."

Taking her eyes off the injured, groaning ninja at her feet, Kagome turned around to find that the three little ninjas had surrounded her from the back.

Kagome didn't have time to harass them. She had to get out of the village before Miroku arrived. But she wasn't going to leave like a sane person. She was going to have fun.

She winked at the kids before she ran off.

"Not this again!" She heard Naruto yell in frustration as they followed.

Kagome didn't need to be an empath to know that her pursuers were angry. They were a bit faster than last times. Their attacks were more aggressive. She found herself on the defense more often.

She wouldn't let herself get backed into a corner, when she had to, she would halt in the middle of her flight to defend herself and try to ward them off so she could escape.

She had to admit, the kids were good. They were on her like flies; attacking as a group, instead of individually. This surprised her, for the Lil Prince, seemed the type to take matters into his own hands. Just as she hadn't been expecting that, she also hadn't been expecting Naruto to split into three. Sakura, she noticed with satisfaction, while being her representative in this world, was a lot more active than she had been. She laughed aloud as she finally broke from the hold they had on her.

Running for the nearest alley, she bounded upward, bouncing from building to building until she was clear of the roofs. Planning on making them her escape path, she hadn't counted on the little ninjas being able to jump higher and faster than she. So as Sakura flew up past her, she smiled into the powerful kicked that sent her tumbling across and down the roof, pulling up shingles as she went.

Just as she rolled over the lip of the roof, she grabbed the edge to stop her descent, and kicked off the wall to give herself a more controlled fall. But as she flipped and aimed for a landing on the ground, Sasuke was suddenly their and landed a kick into her spine, sending her flailing and landing on her face.

She was on her feet a second after hitting the ground and blocking a blow Sasuke had aimed at her stomach. But in the moment it took her to block his attack, the others were on her again. She laughed aloud in delight, and all in one fluid motion; she kicked Sakura , backhanded Naruto, and head butted Sasuke out of her way.

Kagome took off running again, idly noticing that she hated herself for enjoying this so much, and attempted to make an escape for the roofs again. This time her attempt was successful. But the little ninjas were on her tail again.

She slipped on a loose piece of tile and fell to her knees, and just as she went down, a kunai flew past the area where her head had just been. The little Bastards were trying to kill her.

"Who threw that? Sasuke?" she yelled in accusation as she jumped to her feet and charged the surprised ninjas.

Sasuke was her target, and on realizing this he set a course for a head on collision with her. He wasn't going to let her punk him into a defense. They both stopped short of collided. Kagome blocked Sasuke's first strike while she aimed a left hook at him. Seeing the oncoming fist, Sasuke feigned to the right and ran smack dead into her right hand as she slapped him.

"That's not nice!" she yelled with a serious expression, shocking them into a slight daze, before she laughed aloud and ran away again.

"I hate this woman!" Sasuke yelled, as he put a hand to his stinging red cheek.

"We don't have time for this, she's getting away!" Naruto yelled going after their infuriating captive.

Sasuke let out an annoyed growl before taking up chase again. He didn't like the fact that Naruto had just taking charge of the pursuit.

Sakura only hesitated a moment, wondering, where Kakashi was, knowing the man hadn't been unconscious when they left, only dazed. So there was no reason for his absence.

* * *

Kagome jumped off the roof and hid behind the bushes on the backstreets behind the buildings. There she stayed perfectly still as she heard her pursuers pass overhead. While the little ninja's chased her over town, they had been gradually joined by more ninjas who had spotted their game. She wouldn't be surprised if the whole squad was in on the chase now. 

She would think that the more ninja there were, the harder it would be for her to escape. She had been wrong. Their were to many ninja. She had backtracked, circled around, changed courses, and taken so many random turns that she had once ran alongside her pursuers chasing one of their own. She had gotten lost in the crowd.

Now she sat in the back alleys, resting and planning her next move. Which would be whatever tickled her fancy.

"You've got this village in quite an uproar, Little Girl." a deep, strong voice uttered from behind her.

Kagome's eyebrows disappeared behind her head as she turned around in surprised delight.

Whatever had popped into Kagome's head at the sound of the man's voice was nothing compared to what she actually saw. Sitting behind her, on a large mat surrounded by jars filled with exotic butterfly's, was just an old man. He looked to be in his mid-sixties, with a mop top of white hair sitting messily on top of his head. His copper skin was covered in wrinkles, and his face seemed to be etched into a permanent smile, where she saw that his teeth were a bit crooked. But the thing that really stuck with her first impression of this man, were his eyes. They were mischievous and bright.

"What'cha doing?" She asked conversationally as she smile pleasantly.

"Selling Barbele butterflies." The old man answered, picking a jar up and presenting it to her, showing off a rather oddly colored butterfly which seemed to be a mixture purple, brown, and black.

"Why in the middle of the night?" She asked, not being able to help but stare at the strange insect.

"Why not?"

"I don't know." she found herself saying, laughing when she did and being joined by the old man, who seemed to be laughing at her and not with her.

"My name is Uncle Cyrus." the old man announced after a few seconds of laughter.

"_Uncle _Cyrus?" she asked, wondering if the Uncle part was necessary.

"Yes Uncle Cyrus. Not Cyrus…but Uncle Cyrus. Not Uncle…but Uncle Cyrus. Uncle Cyrus is my name and by it will I only acknowledge." Throughout his entire explanation, Uncle Cyrus couldn't keep the chuckle out of his voice, and by the end of it, was having full blown hysterics.

Kagome felt as if her smile would split her face in two.

"Oh my God, Uncle Cyrus!" Kagome declared as she joined in with his lunatic laughter. "I love you!"

They laughed some more.

"You're insane, Leti!" Uncle Cyrus stated through his laughter.

"So are you…and my name's not Leti!" Kagome laughed, not caring if anyone heard her, she was enjoying this random moment.

"I know…but do you know how your insubordination and hatred grates of Death's nerves, Kagome?"

The laughter abruptly stopped as Kagome stared suspiciously at the smiling old man.

"I could care less about the dead man. I'm glad I get on his nerves. But it's nothing compared to what I'll do when this is over." Kagome answered with a sneer. "How do you know these things? Who are you? Really."

"I'm Uncle Cyrus…and I'm a friend." Uncle Cyrus answered with a large smile. "And if you want to get out of here before your friend makes it, I'd say your best bet would be directly over that wall." Pointing behind him, a wall Kagome had yet to notice, Uncle Cyrus smiled furtively at her.

"Yes, but are you a friend of his or mine?" Kagome asked as she turned back to face Uncle Cyrus, only to find that him and his butterfly stand were gone.

"I like him." Kagome announced to no one as her serious moment was over, and with a titter of joy, she hopped over the wall and into freedom.

* * *

Kagome had no inclination of where she was going once she jumped the wall, but after a few miles of aimless running she heard the call. 

'_Kagome_.'

She'd heard him whisper her name before, but this time it was louder, more defined; closer.

"I'm coming, Miroku." She told him, wondering if he could hear her the way she could hear him.

"You're not going anywhere but back to the village."

"You know," Kagome began, as she began to turn to face the owner of the voice, knowing full well who it was. "You are a persistent little Prince, I'd give you…" But Kagome couldn't finish that sentence, for as she turned around a kunai became lodged through her throat.

She hadn't been expecting it and fell to her knees in shock and pain. She felt his hands trembling as he held the offending weapon, hadn't been expecting it either.

She felt the kunai scrape the back of her neck as he jerkily let go and backed away from her. From her crouched position, she saw that his hand was covered in her blood, and further inspection showed that it continued to flow down her front, and she assumed her back too, if the stickiness was anything to go on.

"You…you were supposed to dodge it." Sasuke muttered, trying to muster up his resolve.

Kagome smiled at the childlike voice beneath his toughness, ignoring how her blood tasted as it billed up in her mouth. Gritting her teeth, Kagome wrenched the blade from her throat and tossed it to the ground.

"We can't all be ninjas." she managed to croak out in a raspy, gurgling voice after her vocals had healed a bit.

"Why aren't you dead?"

"You know," she began, her voice slowly getting better. Not giving him a chance to escape, she launched herself at him, successfully pinning him to a tree. "I've been wondering the same thing." she rasped, before giving him a devastating blow to the head, as she head butted him. Effectively rendering him unconscious.

She tossed his body on the ground next to his bloodied kunai, as she stood still with her head facing the sky, with a stream of blood running down her face from a no longer existing wound.

She stood still as her neck wound healed, she stood still as the only sound to be heard was Sasuke's breathing, and she stood still as her name was called out again. This time from the very forest she stood in. Getting closer. Coming to her, since it seemed she wasn't coming to him. It was time for a reunion.

And as she took her fist step to intercept her beloved monk…Kagome smiled.


	6. Chp 5

**A/N:** This fic won the poll for fic to be updated next located in my profile.

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* * *

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Chp. 5 Looming Near

* * *

Kagome hadn't walked very far before she found him. Her beloved monk, her lecherous friend, her rival.

He stood in the shadow of the trees. Staring at her with his hauntingly black eyes and smiling his sadistic grin at her. She stopped a few feet short of him and returned his grin with one of her own. When he saw that she wasn't going to come any further, Miroku began closing the gap by stepping out into the moonlight.

If she had had any sense, Kagome would have feared this Miroku. Unlike his formal self, Miroku's presence was one of nightmares. His skin had become thin and pallid, clearly showing the black blood running through his veins now. His eyes, which were no longer brown but an inky black, were sunken and surrounded by dark rings. His hair, though still in it's ponytail, was stringy and filthy looking. But his expression…his expression should have frightened her the most. His eyes were calm, his face tranquil, his expression was ready. Ready to kill without remorse.

"Lady Kagome," He said in greeting after letting her scrutinize him for a minute. "So nice to see you again. How have you been?"

He took a step closer to her, but instincts told her that that would be a bad thing, so she repositioned herself so that he was still a good distance away and dead in front of her. She smiled.

"I believe I've lost my mind, I was accused of murder, and I've terrorized an entire village. How about you?" He made a sudden lunge for her, but she quickly dodged and laughed at him.

Miroku's face was one of immense anger and annoyance as he missed her, but as he rounded on her, his face was pleasant once more. "Oh…not much." he answered casually, smiling at a memory as he circled the clearing, trying to find a way to get at her.

"I've heard you've been busy." Kagome ventured, always keeping him a safe distance away and doing her best to evade his clutches when he grabbed at her.

His face might have been calm and pleasant, but his grasps at her revealed the inner hatred and evil within him. Those hands were out to hurt her…cursed hands…just like before. She smiled at this similarity.

"You've heard that, have you?" Miroku asked with a smile. "In a way you can say I have. I've found something that I'm extremely good at and can enjoy."

"What? Raping and murdering women?"

Miroku threw his head back and laughed. The laugh that escaped his throat; pure, manic masochism; sent a shiver down her spine that had her smiling widely.

"I have done no such thing." He finally said as he calmed down.

"Oh really?"

"Really. I have murdered no one. They simply…expired from our excursions."

"They're bodies were mutilated."

"So I like to play rough." Miroku snapped, his voice losing it's charm and his skin becoming shadowed as the darkness of the jewel almost consumed him. "It's not my fault girls here are too fragile."

She hadn't been prepared for his next lunge. His movements gave no sign that he was about to attack, and so when she suddenly found his hand at her throat, and her back against a tree, she laughed aloud.

"You see, dear Lady Kagome, I've killed so many girls now that it's hysterical." Miroku began, his eyes completely black with the jewel's evil as he ranted, spittle coming out of his mouth as he went. "I take them from their villages, right from their beds, as they wash, as they do their chores, right in front of their parents eyes, from a lover's embrace. I get them from all over. Sometimes I'll get them by the bunch…all the more entertainment. My favorite part is the beginning…when they fight back. Try to fend me off, try to hold back tears, fighting their own bodies. Fighting what I make them feel. Humiliation…shame…disgust…pleasure. That's what I feed off from them. They all succumb to me in the end, despite their morals, despite the pain I inflict, despite their own judgment…I have them clutching at me for more…have them crying out in despair at themselves…have them respond to my instructions…doing anything…and lose themselves in me. Their death starts on the inside and slowly creeps outward. By the time I'm finished they die from their own disgrace than from my inflictions upon them."

"You're gross." Kagome choked out before Miroku's hand pierced her belly. She flinched as his fingers teased her intestines, and the hand around her throat crushed her wind pipe.

"It's was amusing seeing you again, Lady Kagome, but seeing as you're trying to spoil my fun…I have to hinder you greatly. Any last words before I strewn your innards across this forest like decoration?"

"Yeah…you're still gross."

Miroku chuckled darkly at her. "Until we meet again."

Kagome said nothing as she watched Miroku retract his bloodied hand from her stomach. They made eye contact for the briefest of times, both their expressions intense, but as he moved to enter her abdomen again…a ear piercing scream tore through the forest. The scream of a young girl finding the boy she loved immobile on the ground next to his bloodied kunai.

"That's sounds promising." Miroku announced, his smile one of a sadistic lecher. "The younger the better."

"Oh come on!" Kagome yelled, disappointment evident in her voice. "I've never had my innards strewn across a forest before…I was looking forward to it."

"Of course you were. It seems that we weren't the only ones to succumb to misfortune by your wish."

The comment hurt Kagome worst than being impaled, and as she flinched, Miroku took his shot. Grabbing her head, Miroku delivered three ruthlessly hard slams against the tree she had been pinned against. One slam to crack her skull, the second to split it, and the third to crush it. On the third slam, Kagome lost her vision and all feeling in her body. She didn't feel it when Miroku tossed her aside, but she heard it when she connected with the ground, and she knew when he left, but for the time being, she could do nothing about it. Nothing about anything.

* * *

She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't believe. Sasuke. Her Sasuke. 

"No." Sakura whispered, her voice wavering with emotion.

She was too late. She saw when he had jumped the wall after the woman, but as she had debated whether to get the rest of the team, she had lost him. And now…now that woman had killed him.

She couldn't see where he was wounded, for he lay on his stomach, but his hand was covered in blood and his bloodied kunai lay accusingly by his side.

She fell to her knees at his side. She felt sick. Her legs felt like lead and she was becoming lightheaded. She felt the blood rushing in her ears as it pushed out her tears. She tried to call out his name, but her throat had closed up. She wanted to scream again but her chest hurt too much. All she could do was touch him, at least to make sure he wasn't a nightmare.

As her fingers met a solid body, and not an illusion, she felt the scream she had been trying to conjure begin to rise painfully through her, but before it could make it to her throat, she saw that her fingers were rising…then descending.

He was breathing.

She wanted to pass out.

"He's…he's alive." she laughed aloud jerkily, as her tears fell more freely now accompanied by occasional sobs.

"Well that's good." a throaty voice announced from behind her.

She whirled around in surprise to face the stranger, but as she found herself staring into eyes as black as a bug's, she fell onto her backside in fright. The bug eyes belonged to a man…a man who was crouching not an inch from her. His eyes were wide as he gazed at her body from head to toe, before finally resting on her face. He smiled.

She began to shake, unable to do anything else but shake. This man frightened her, with his dirty hair, pale, vein ridden skin, and black eyes, but the way he leered at her terrified her very soul. He got onto all four, as if he was about to crawl over to her.

"That's good he's alive." the man continued. "I would hate to think any crying you did wasn't because of me."

His words seemed to hit her like a hand to her face. She gasped and scooted away, trying to put as much distance between herself and the strange man without taking her eyes off of him.

"Oh…oh that's good." The man whispered as he began to stalk closer. "I can see your fear. It amuses me."

"St-stay back!" she cried out as she ambled away from him, the quiver in her voice giving her no power to back up her threat.

"Or, what? You're going to attack me?" he laughed condescendingly, before his face turned serious.

She shrieked as she saw his skin bulge and ripple as if his blood was a living entity. She reached for a kunai, to try to defend herself, but as she reached for a weapon, he produced them himself with a flick of his wrist.

"Looking for this?" he asked, swinging her weapon around on his finger teasingly.

"Or perhaps," he continued, tossing the kunai far into the forest as he offered her stolen badge. "you were looking for this?"

Her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe anyone could move that fast or quietly. Not only had he stolen her weapons without her detection, but had taken something, that was tied, directly from her head and have her feel not a single hair move.

Miroku sighed at her lack of reaction, he preferred it went they went ballistic. This one was still in shock.

"My dear Lady, you were supposed to run at this point."

She couldn't move. All she managed to do was stare frighten at him, as her breathing came out shaky and labored.

"The thrill of the hunt is the chase, you wouldn't be so rude as to deny me that bit of fun, would you?"

He was stilled denied his desired reaction.

"RUN GIRL!" he yelled, and in his fury his face contorted and the evil of the jewel sprang forth to overshadow him.

Sakura screamed so loud that she knew her throat had suffered some immense damage. But as she screamed, she didn't bother to hush and save it. She was too busy running to save anything but herself, and put the demon and his laughter as far away from her as possible.

* * *

She couldn't stop running. If she did, she knew she'd never have the energy to start up again. 

And she couldn't afford that risk. She just couldn't.

The demon man…he was always just a heart beat away. He toyed with her. He herded her like cattle.

Just when she thought she might have lost him, she'd hear him laugh or he'd pop up before her out of the darkness.

Laughing. Always laughing at her.

She hadn't been so afraid in all her life. She'd never cried as much as she did now. This man...this monster …he was the one they had been looking for. He was the criminal that had attacked all those villages. He was the one killing all those village girls. And now…he was after her. She had run aimlessly at first, just trying to get away from him. But when she thought of running back to the village, she had been too late. She was lost deep in the forest and couldn't tell north from east.

She stumbled, but kept going. She wasn't going to let herself fall. Not now…not ever if it kept her alive a bit longer.

"That was a close call, wasn't it?"

She screamed in distress as he whispered in her ear. He was always only a heartbeat away.

"Leave me alone." she cried, all training gone from her head as the little girl broke through.

"Sorry." The demon man said in a sincere voice as he stepped out of the shadows and wrapped his arms around her. Holding her firmly to him, he nuzzled her neck and whispered into her ear. "Can't do that. You see, I have other plans for you."

She didn't have to ask what.

"Pl-please." She muttered through the fear and revulsion she felt at his touch…at his closeness…at his thoughts.

"There will be enough time for begging later. Now…how bout…"

"…You let her go."

Both Miroku and Sakura froze at the sound of Kagome's voice.

To Sakura, catching sight of the deranged captive of the leaf village was like glimpsing heaven, especially since it seemed she was going to help her, but to Miroku, her appearance was a mere hindrance.

"Well look who decided to blow off death and join the party." Miroku greeted, making a show of fondling the girl in his embrace, who cried in a panic as he did so.

Kagome's face darkened in anger as she stopped in front of the erroneous couple. She briefly made eye contact with Sakura before turning her angered eyes onto Miroku.

"I didn't blow off Death! He won't let me go!" She yelled in justification pointing a threatening finger at him.

Miroku laughed at her, as he continued to make his prey squirm. "Of course."

Kagome seemed to ease up at this, although a smile didn't cross her face. Seeing her blank face, Sakura began to cry harder, knowing now that the psycho wasn't going to help her.

Where was everyone? Someone should have come looking for her by now. She would even be happy to see Naruto come bounding up to her rescue. She didn't care who, she just wanted for this torment to be over. She wanted to wake up and have this all be some terrible nightmare. But what terrified her the most, was knowing that she was stronger than this. She should have been able to fight back, even when all her weapons were stolen, even when her demon snuck up on her. She should have fought back…that was what she was trained for. But she couldn't. She was beyond terrified…her demon seemed to suck all hope and courage from her and turn her into a defenseless child. He made her feel weak and hopeless…made her look back on times when Sasuke and Naruto did all the real work. Made her feel like the weak link in the group. Made her feel helpless.

She cried even harder as her struggles became less and less effective.

"That's ENOUGH!" Kagome yelled and she grabbed Sakura by the arm and wrenched her from Miroku's grasp with all the strength she could muster. Her throw sent Sakura flying to the forest floor behind her.

It wasn't her strength, but her fury and Miroku's surprise at her sudden attack, that actually freed the terrified girl. Her actions were followed by a pregnant pause as Sakura and Miroku stared at her. Sakura remained where she had fallen and merely looked up at Kagome with wide eyes and a tear strained face. She dared not move in fear of bringing the demon's attention back to her and of Jane Doe's sporadic behavior.

Miroku twitched. "I wasn't through with that!" All Sakura could do was flinch as the demon backhanded Jane Doe out of the way and lunged for her again.

With the moves of a demonic, snake, possessed squirrel, Kagome maneuvered around Miroku's attacking body and braced herself in front of the petrified girl and held Miroku at bay.

"Why are you doing this?" Kagome managed to say as she repositioned herself to match Miroku's every move. Miroku paid her no attention and mainly focused on trying to get around Kagome and at the cowering girl behind her.

"What are you fighting me for, huh? For some silly little girl?"

Miroku's behavior showed that he either didn't hear her or didn't care what she had to say.

"The Old Miroku would have never acted like this? The Old Miroku would know that this is wrong? The Old Miroku…"

"The Old Miroku is dead, remember? You should know better than anyone." Miroku growled, in hopes of getting her to lay off guard.

"Oh yeah?" Kagome asked, not letting him get to her. "Well I bet he's still in there? I bet the Old Miroku is still alive."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because the Old Miroku wouldn't want a child…when he could have a woman instead." Kagome's voice turned sultry and deep towards the end of her sentence as her hands became softer on his chest and more caressing.

Miroku's thrashings, in turn, became less frantic and his attention slowly retreated from the girl to Kagome, though his face was still contorted in hate and malice.

"You see? I know the Old Miroku. He who loved women. He who was a pleasure seeker. And he who wanted an unattainable miko. Didn't you? You wanted me, but couldn't have me. Because '_he' _was always around. Because '_she' _wanted you. You loved the exterminator, but you lusted after the forbidden fruit. The girl from the future. You longed to taste my flesh. Well now's your chance. I'm here and I'm alone. I'm not as fragile as the other girls you've played with here. I'll last longer. I won't break as easily. You could take your time and be as brutal as you please. And since there's no dog demon for you to be afraid of…"

"I wasn't afraid!" Miroku yelled in sudden anger as he grabbed her face tightly in his hand, lifting her off the ground in the process. "I was never afraid! I loved you! I was a man of the cloth, and you were a miko! We would have been perfect together! But you never once looked at me, did you? You only had eyes for that dog! I treated you like you were the world! I listened to you! I spoke to you like a lady should be spoken to! But you couldn't appreciate what I could have given you! Instead I had to play petty games with the exterminator in hopes of striking jealousy into your heart! I even fooled myself into thinking I loved her! And you, you never batted an eye! You seem relieved! Was the thought of a human lover too demeaning to you?"

This was news to Kagome's ears. She had merely tried to distract Miroku with thoughts of the past and his lecherous fetish for her skirts. She hadn't been expecting this. "If…if I had know how you felt…I would have…"

"WHAT? Let me down gently? Broken my heart?"

"I…"

"NO! I don't want to hear it! You're mine now! I'm going to have you like I should've all those years ago! You missed out…and you're not going to enjoy it this time!" he kissed her fiercely on the mouth. Kagome didn't fight against him, she was too busy observing how her mouth was going numb and seeing her veins turning black from where he kissed her and spread up her face.

As quickly as he kissed her, Miroku broke it and swung her around so that she faced Sakura. "See your little friend there. It seemed you managed to save this one. Better late than never, eh Kagome?"

Kagome locked eyes with Sakura as she and Miroku began to fade into the darkness. The girl hadn't moved since Kagome had thrown her, and now she was staring up at her, scared and confused. Kagome had saved her when the look of helplessness had blossomed onto the girl's face. She knew that feeling in and out. Reminding her of her former self more than ever. She couldn't stand that feeling. She hated that feeling. And she especially hated it, knowing that Miroku was the cause. Her sweet, kind, lecherous friend.

"Get the hell out of here!" Kagome yelled in anger at the frightened girl, and was satisfied to see the girl finally get to her feet, and with frequent looks back at their disappearing figure, run off into the woods.

* * *

"SAKURA!" Naruto yelled in panic as his missing teammate came stumbling through the foliage, look worse for wear and freaked out of her mind. He thought the worse when he and Kakashi stumbled across the then unconscious Sasuke covered in blood. But they soon realized he was fine but discovered Sakura's badge and weapons abandoned and scattered around the clearing. They figured she was chased and not abducted and so followed in the general direction she had taken, with Naruto supporting the dazed Sasuke as they went. 

"What the hell happened to you?" Naruto demanded, ready to fight whatever had done this to his Sakura.

"What did she do to you?" Sasuke growled, already guessing who Sakura had dealt with.

"Where is she?" Kakashi asked, planning to leave his students to return to the village while he got rid of the threat.

"No," She cried clinging to Sasuke for support. "It wasn't her, it was the demon."

"She is the demon!" Sasuke yelled, shaking her off of her in his sudden fury at the woman.

"No she isn't! She saved me!" Sakura yelled back, ready to defend anyone who could have rescued her from that experience.

"She was toying with you! She _is_ the demon! I stabbed her straight through the throat, I almost severed her head, but she still lives! I felt her skull cave in when she head butted me! She should be dead! _She is the demon!_"

"They're both demons! Now lets go kick their butts!" Naruto yelled angrily as he made to take off in the direction Sakura had come.

"You're not going anywhere." Kakashi said calmly as he grabbed Naruto by the back of his collar. "You three are going to return to the village and tell them what you know."

"And what are you going to do?" Naruto fumed.

"_I'll _take care of the demons."

"No fair!" He yelled as he began to protest, followed by Sasuke and Sakura's declaration of who was and wasn't a demon.

Their banter went on for a few minutes, no one getting anywhere in their argument. But all came to a cease fire when the yell of someone in pain filled the forest and sent shivers down their spines. They couldn't tell whether it was male of female, but they could tell where it came from, and one by one they took off in the general direction of where the scream came from.

They ran for different reasons.

Sakura ran for fear of Kagome being the one to scream. Now having her team to back her up and her weapons returned, Sakura was determined not to cower from that demon and help Kagome just as she helped her. She couldn't stand to know that that could have been her.

Sasuke ran to prove once and for all that Kagome was the demon. That woman had been trouble since the first day she arrived to the village, and now, she had attacked Sakura and traumatized the girl. He vowed that he would expose her for what she really was.

Naruto wanted to fight. That's all. He sensed that the end to the killings was looming near, and he wanted to be the one to end it all. He wanted to be the hero and prove that he was worth something.

Kakashi couldn't let his students run off to face a dangerous fiend by themselves. He didn't know what to expect. Two demons? One? None? He just knew that his students would find the danger, they always did, and he would have to protect them and the village. Then he could get back to his book.

Unexpectedly, a dark, screaming shadow swept through them. Halting them in their tracks and freezing them to the bone with it inner terror. The shadow seemed to be made of pure hatred and pain. It seemed confused by them and ran circles around them, screaming it's terrible scream as it did so, before facing back the way it came. As suddenly as it arrived, it departed, barely sparing them a glance, but the effects of it lasted a while past its departure.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto yelled as he shivered, trying to shake the feeling of the shadow off of him.

"Shut up!" Sasuke hissed at him, straining to hear.

"Huh? Hey! Don't tell me what to…"

"Naruto," Kakashi started. "Be quiet."

At the command of his teacher, Naruto grudgingly became quiet like his teammates, and by doing so was able to hear what they had been struggling to hear since the shadow left them.

Someone was laughing.

* * *

They followed the laughter to the most peculiar of sights. They had reached the edge of the forest and the source of the laughter. 

It was Jane Doe. Lying on the ground a broken, bloody, terrifying mess, and she was laughing.

They hadn't come from under the cover of the trees, so Jane Doe hadn't noticed them. Upon seeing her, Sakura had made a move to help her, but Kakashi's restraining hand had stopped her.

They watched as she laughed and laughed. They watched silently and in awe as she sat up and held her head upright as the tear in her neck mended itself. They watched as bones receded back into her flesh and snapped back together. They watched as gashes and cuts on her skin knitted themselves whole. They watched as bruises began to fade and limbs righted themselves. And they watched as her laughter faded only to be replaced by a cold, hard, look of purpose.

Jane Doe stood up and stretched. "MIROKU!" she yelled in sudden fury.

They watched as she cocked her head to the side, as if listening for an answering call. After a second of silence she seemed to hear one, for she set her intent gaze to the south and off she went running.

The ninja's followed her silently. They didn't exchange looks, they didn't speak, and they hardly made sounds as they followed her, still hidden in the forest. Jane Doe was faster than they thought, and they had to use all their energy in keeping up with her.

Her clothes were in tatters and they needn't bother to panic whenever they would lost sight of her, for they could easily tell her direction from fallen material.

She seemed to run on never ending energy, for she never slowed down in her pace while her pursuers soon tired from the endless running. It wasn't until they happened upon a river did her furious pace lessen.

As she waded out into the river, the ninja's rested in the coverage of the trees as she trudged away.

Kagome had gotten to the middle of the waist deep water when she spied her reflection and she halted in her tracks at the sight of it. She stood transfixed, looking at her bloodied horrid face. She watched as her reflection looked at what she had become in revulsion and then hatred. She didn't blame it, she hated what she had become too.

She swatted the water and watched in satisfaction as her reflection vanished. But her victory was short lived as her reflection was back and looking smug. She hit at it again, and again, and again until she was soaked through, but the reflection kept coming back.

"Stop looking at me!" she yelled as she hit and kicked at the mocking thing.

During her battle she slipped and fell under. She thrashed about wildly as she regained her sense of up and down. Sitting chest deep in the water, Kagome breathed heavily from her excursion as she stared angrily at the reflection, which had come back and was now even closer. The nerve.

She swatted it once more for old times sakes and watched in surprise as she swatted a fish a few good feet across the water.

She stared after it in wonderment. That was the coolest thing she had ever saw. She needed to do it again.

She scrambled around in the water, trying to catch as many fish as she could, and began skipping them down the river like rocks. All thoughts of taunting reflections and Miroku gone from her head as she enjoyed her new past time.

So enthralled in her new game, Kagome didn't notice the ninja's until Kakashi had grabbed her wrist, forcing her to release her skipping trout and pay attention to them.

"You have some explaining to do?" Kakashi demanded as he pulled her from the river and into the company of his little ninjas.

Kagome smiled and started to deny that she did, but after catching the gaze of Sakura, and taking in her bedraggle look, her smile waned. "I guess I do…don't I?"

* * *

Kagome sat on the ground and gave the ninja something they wanted to hear. 

"My name is Kagome, and I was the protector of an evil treasure in a world unlike yours. I was born of the earth and it is my destiny to protect the evil of the treasure from those foolish enough to seek it. But centuries at this task drew weary to my heart and I longed for the outside world. I longed for friends and companionship. One day I found it. Treasure hunters. Six of them. Inuyasha, a hanyou, Miroku, a monk, Sango, a demon exterminator, Shippo, a child demon, Kikyo, a priestess, and Kirara, a giant, monster, fire breathing cat. I put off my duties and allowed them access. What harm could come of it? I lied, I said that I was part of the treasure, and they believed me. They took the treasure and I went along with them. I was finally free, able to feel the sun on my face and taste the air of the outside world."

"I thought you said the treasure was evil?" Sasuke asked with a skeptical look.

"It is." Kagome answered, as sadness overtook her face. "We had many adventures together but the evil of the treasure began to taint them. I ignored it. I was in denial. I refused to believe that I had done them harm by allowing them at the treasure. And in my ignorance they fell prey to the evil. You saw one of them now. You saw what he has become. I'm the only one left and as it was before, it is my duty to guard the treasure. And protect people from their evil."

"You're not doing a very good job." Naruto added with a disapproving look.

"Yes. But I had craved to be like those who hunted my treasure for so long. And now I'm paying the price for it. I have to kill my friends and return the treasure back to it's resting place. And…" Kagome looked up at the moon. "I only have a day left, or else your world will be plagued by another month of killing."

Why shouldn't they believe her. They had seen part of the treasure hanging around her neck. They had come across the evil that was her friend, and they had seen first hand that she truly was a spirit. What human could heal as fast and effectively as she could.

"I'm in." Sakura announced, moved by the Guardian Spirit's sad tale of loneliness.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted as he, Kakashi, and Sasuke, although grudgingly, agreed to help. "Let's kick their butt!"

Kagome laughed, at what they thought was Naruto's enthusiasm, but really at the thrill of her lies.


	7. Chp 6

* * *

**Chp. 6 New Moon**

* * *

She had missed the New Moon twice and he planned on having her miss for a third. The man was insane, and that was saying something when you compared his antics to hers. But under the current circumstances, she could decipher what was and wasn't insane. She had her sanity back.

Well part of it.

She hadn't expected it to come back when she killed Miroku. She didn't want it. Everything was sadder, scarier, and bleaker to her now. She longed for the day when she smiled at situations like this and improvised up a plan she would have fun doing. That was what she missed: the fun, the innocence, and the sheer obliviousness to everything. It was a sad turn of events; her craving for lunacy when she had missed her sanity for so long.

She heard him chuckle and she grimaced. He was always laughing. Was this how people felt when she laughed at nothing and everything? Uh. His laugh sickened her and so did her prison. Cold, wet, and cramped. She twisted and tried to get comfortable. Her movements only made him laugh the harder. But she didn't care, even if she had a bone to pick with him, she'd wait for the right opportunity.

In the meanwhile, she could only grimace as old memories began to pop up. She welcomed them…it was a change of scenery from her dark cage. Anything was better than that.

* * *

"So…how do you know we're going in the right direction?" Sasuke asked, annoyed that they had been following a deranged woman around in the woods for hours without anyone voicing their doubts.

Kagome rounded on him and smiled widely, tapping her temple with a smug look. "I don't know. I just hear him calling me, and I follow that mental voice."

"That's not very reliable." Naruto added.

"Not in the least. This way!" Kagome didn't bother to check to see if they were following before she took off at a sudden sprint.

"Are you who you really say you are?" Sasuke asked as they all caught up to her, easily keeping pace.

"Of course." Kagome answered throwing him a smile.

"Then why are you so…so…?" Naruto began but became lost from a choice of words.

"Flamboyant?" Sakura added helpfully, trying to keep her hero from getting her feelings hurt.

"Sure. If that's what you want to call it."

Kagome surprised them by laughing aloud as she turned on her heel and began running backwards without skipping a beat. "It's part of my punishment. The longer I go without killing my friends and returning the treasure, the more my sanity slips away from me."

"So you weren't always…like this?"

Kagome fell, but before they had a chance to stop in alarm, she was back on her feet and running right, but her smile was gone and her face was stony. With dirt on her face and a head full of leaves, at the moment, Kagome truly did look like a spirit born of the earth.

"No I wasn't always like this." She snapped.

"I was nothing spectacular, but I was a better person." She continued, "I was caring, kind, and passionate. I had morals; I had a sense of self-preservation. I didn't take risks just for the hell of it. I thought things through before I did anything. I was capable of making plans and following through with them. When I _laughed_, something _funny _was actually going on!"

"How long have you been at it?" Sakura asked her, almost afraid of the answer.

To their surprise, Kagome laughed bitterly. "Too long obliviously! I don't even remember how old I am! But the true irony is…if I had my sanity, I probably would have finished this crap all a long time ago!" Kagome finished her tirade with laughter.

"I don't think that's funny." Naruto whispered to his teammates.

"And that's what's sad about it. Because it's not!" Laughing to herself, Kagome came to a sudden halt just as they rounded the top of a hill. "WE'RE HERE!"

"Where's here?" Kakashi asked, finally speaking up.

"Yeah. Where are we?" Sakura added as they looked around at the surrounding hills that enclosed the valley below. The valley would have been a beautiful utopia, if the many trees hadn't been barren and the ground actually had grass. It seemed to reek of sadness and death. Nothing grew there, and nothing ever would.

"At this spot." Kagome answered as she sat on the ground and laid down for a rest.

"What _is _this spot?" Sasuke prompted, his patience thin.

"This is the spot, where Miroku will meet us at." Kagome answered, her eyes closed as she tried to drift off.

"So if he isn't here, then where is he?" Naruto asked.

Kagome peered out of one eye and glanced around as she lazily pointed in seemingly random directions. "Somewhere in that direction licking his wounds."

"WHAT? He's injured? Then why don't we go now and finish him off?"

Kagome sat up at this and looked Naruto straight in the eye, much to his unease.

"Because he is my friend. He wasn't always like this, he was an honorable monk and he will die with respect." Kagome drew her knees up into her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I wouldn't dare take that from him. He'll die fully capable of defending himself, he'll die in battle, and he'll die with dignity. I owe him at least that, for what I did to him."

"What did you do to him?" Sasuke demanded of her, his voice accusing.

Kagome glanced up at him with a sad smile. "You are an unforgiving child. You don't like me, do you?"

Sasuke didn't answer and continued to glower at her. Kagome chose not to answer either and stared down at her feet, wondering just when she had lost her shoes.

"What were they like?" Sakura asked after a few minutes of silence.

Kagome looked up at Sakura, clearly confused.

Seeing her confusion, Sakura hurriedly reprised her question. "What were your friends like?"

At the question, Kagome's eyes lit up with something besides lunacy for once. "My friends," she started, looking up in remembrance. "They were great. They were my family. Matter-o-fact, you guys remind me a little of them."

She looked at Sasuke fondly; catching the boy off guard for this was the first she had done so. "You remind me of Inuyasha. He was the leader of our pack. He was strong and brave, always ready to protect us. He was always the first into battle, and the last out. There seemed to be no end to his ever growing strength. I was in love with him. Even if he was the world's biggest grouch. He was a grumpy, half-demon who swung his sword fiercely rather than come up with a strategic plan. He wasn't the smartest fellow in the world, quite slow-witted, with a tendency to get enraged and fight whenever something or someone confused him. He had a few issues. His parents had both died while he was young, his brother tried to kill him a few times, and because he was a hanyou, he was never really accepted by either humans or demons. But we accepted the foul mouth, hot tempered dog-boy with loving arms."

Sasuke, who had liked the comparison at first, scowled at her while she turned to face Naruto. "You most definitely remind me of Shippo. Shippo was like a son to me. We had taken him in after his parents were killed by a pair of evil brothers. We helped him avenge his parents by killing the brothers and taking back Shippo's father's pelt. He was a fox demon. No bigger than a breadbox. He and Inuyasha were constantly fighting and he would go out of his way to pick on him. He was also a pretty hyper kid. Never still for very long and always running around rather than walking."

Kagome smiled briefly before turning her sights onto the ever-quiet Kakashi. "You and Miroku have an uncanny resemblance in personality. Well, before he turned, but you remind me of him. He was a pervert."

This caused the little ninjas to giggle and smile, while Kakashi merely continued to gaze at her curiously, but Kagome didn't see him, for she was too busy looking into the past.

"Yeah, he was a pervert. He was constantly asking women to bear his children, and you had to watch yourself if he was standing near, or if you couldn't see him, or if he smiled at you, for he had a bad case of wandering hands. He was a decadent monk, but a monk, nonetheless. A very spiritual man, he was. Always meditating, when he wasn't harassing women, and a suave talker, when he did talk. He wasn't one to put his two cents into everything, and when he spoke amidst an argument, it was usually something very logical and worthy. He kept his cool, and I don't think I ever saw him lose his temper. Yes, he was fierce in battle, but he never lost it. He was the epitome of chivalry. He was cursed to die young. You see, he had a whole in his hand, a wind void, and it was destined to swallow him whole one day. Just like his father before him, and his grandfather before him. That's why he was always asking women to bear his children. So that he could have an heir before he died. I thought he had found someone in Sango."

Kagome drifted off at this as her smile faded and deep thought tried to conquer her madness.

"So I remind you of Sango?" Sakura asked, already guessing what Kagome thought of her.

"Heavens no!" Kagome suddenly burst out into laughter, making the smile on Sakura's face to fall.

"Sango was a warrior. A fierce, iron hearted, fearless warrior." Kagome continued, oblivious to Sakura's chagrin. "She was raised, since birth, to fight and kill demons. She was the strongest of her village. She was the _only one _left of her village. They had all been killed and she had been buried alive. The first time we met her; she was angry and vengeful and had fought against us. I don't blame her; she had been lied to by the incarnate of evil. She joined us then in hopes of avenging her village and family and rescuing her brother. Sango was a marvelous strategist with a military like persona. She was my best friend, almost like my sister. Hell, she was my sister. But she thought more with her head than with her heart, and could even seem cold hearted at times. That's not you. No you remind me of me."

"You?" Sakura asked, sounding anything but thrilled.

"Yes me," Kagome laughed, "Don't sound so optimistic. Remember, I told you, I wasn't always like this. I was a caring person. Of course I had powers, but I wasn't big in the battles. I was more of a rock."

"A rock?" Sakura repeated skeptically, her hero-worshipping of Kagome starting to dwindle.

"A rock. I was an anchor. I kept the group intact. You heard me about those contrasting personalities, they would have murdered each other without me. They could not have been friendly and civil alone. I was a link between them. Even though I wasn't as weak as they liked to think, they preferred me to stay out of battles; they wanted to protect me physically, because I protected them mentally and spiritually. I cared for them. I told them that the tragedies in their lives would be compensated one day, that their ill-fate would rectify itself and that it would all result in their happiness in the end. They had guilt and sorrow on their souls, I shared it, I told them that it wasn't their fault and that nothing could change what had happened except for them to let go. I kept them sane. I kept them from the edge. I tethered them to the present. I loved them. I put myself in countless dangerous acts to keep them safe. Keep them alive and happy."

Kagome's face darkened in anger as her eyes became glassy and maddened.

"But I guess that was a futile effort in the end. They survived all those times just to die because I didn't care about them for _one _moment. And now, when _I _need someone to talk to, when I need someone to care for _me_, there's no one!" In sudden anger, Kagome swiftly and fluidly sprang to her feet, alarming the ninjas into nervous stances where they sat. "Who's going to keep _me _sane? Who's going to keep _me _from the edge? _I _have guilt and sorrow, who's going to share it with _me_? What about _my _compensation? Am _I _destined to have happiness in the end? Will I finally be free of Death's bony, dramatic fingers?"

Kagome began to pace furiously, muttering loudly how Death was a drama queen and was too lazy to do things himself. Her frantic ranting made the ninjas anxious, as she now began calling the Grim Reaper a freakish, girly elephant without a trunk.

"Because that's what he is. He cries like a girl and he's freaky like an elephant without a trunk, and he takes his half-baked frustration out on normal people who just want to die, and forces them to make up for his anomalies. The freak…I hope he cries himself to sleep and chokes on his tears."

Soon, her ranting got quieter as she fell into herself and laid down again, farther away from the ninjas and her back to them. It wasn't until they had stopped completely that they knew she was asleep.

"If you ever get like her," Naruto began as they all looked at Sakura. "We're going to lock you in a box."

* * *

Kagome awoke abruptly; startled out of her sleep by a loud, boisterous silence.

She stood just as silently and stared out into the imposing night, which was made darker by the absence of the moon. Sometime during her nap, her companions had joined her in the Land of Dreams, and now sat sprawled around their site in deep dozes. She wouldn't call the place she had been, The Land of Dreams; it was more like a numb unconsciousness. Usually her dreams, when she remembered to sleep, consisted of painful, heart wrenching, wish-she-had-died memories of her life passed, but somehow, this time, she had dreamed of nothing. She didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed at their absences, not all the dreams had been unpleasant.

"_Kagome_." She shivered as the wind spoke her name like a lovers whisper in her ear.

She knew that if she turned towards the voice that she would see nothing, so instead she looked out and down into the valley as a shadowy figure rose up from nothing.

"Miroku." she whispered in greeting, as a small, sad smile irrupted onto her face. Even though she couldn't see his features, she got the impression that he smiled and nodded at her in acknowledge.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The voice stopped Kagome in the tracks she hadn't known she'd been making. Like always, the emotion on Kagome's face and mind were hidden behind her distraught smile.

She angled her head to glance at them over her shoulder, her facial expression disturbing them, but not to the point of backing off.

"I'm going to go kill my friend; you have a problem with that?" Kagome asked, her smiled fixed into place, as they surrounded her with disapproving looks.

"Yeah, because of the fact that _you _can't fight and _that's _a demon!" Naruto yelled, making his point with violent gestures.

Kagome continued to smile at the accusation that she couldn't fight.

"_Why _can't I fight?"

"Because you don't know how, obviously." Sasuke answered for her. "You'll get yourself killed."

"You are so encouraging, Little Prince. Now what makes you think I can't fight?"

Ignoring the nickname, Sasuke looked as if he was about to reply when Naruto beat him to the punch.

"Because Kakashi kicked your butt, back in the village!"

Kagome turned to stare at the silent teacher, who merely gazed back with a bored and slouchy disposition. Yeah he had kicked her butt, but she wasn't trying to fight him. She was trying to summon her non-existent powers. Turning back to face the children, she smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"You caught me. So what are we going to do?"

"You're going to stay up here, out of the way." Kakashi spoke up, as he put a light, but firm grip on her shoulder, letting her know that the decision was not up for arguments.

Kagome glanced at the hand then back at the young ninjas. "So you four plan to fight him all on your own, while I play the damsel in distress."

"Not so the damsel, but more of backup plan." Sakura said, trying to soften Kagome's ego, thinking they had offended her.

Unexpectedly, but not surprisingly, Kagome burst into laughter. "Of course." Kagome complied, giving them a mocking bow. "My saviors, you shall fight the beast while I play cheerleader and root you on."

"That's not what we…" Sakura began, but was interrupted as Kagome began to speak again.

"Whatever! Just go and do what you plan to do before he gets impati….TOO LATE! HERE HE COMES!"

Miroku had grown tired of their bickering. He raced up the hill with such speed, that it looked as if he was flying. As he was the first time she saw him, Miroku was shrouded in the dark, evilness that was the jewel, nothing visible but his burning eyes, filled with hatred. The ninjas barely had time to dodge out of the way before he was upon them. But Miroku merely batted them out his way like flies as he dove for his intended target. Kagome.

The ground exploded as Miroku came into contact with the spot Kagome had stood seconds prior.

"And they say chivalry is dead." Kagome muttered as her rescuer landed yards away from the attack sight and set her down gently.

Just as she had been expecting, Kakashi didn't comment before leaving her to fight the final battle.

Kagome didn't feel compelled to correct the ninja's on their assumption that she couldn't fight, they seemed to have forgotten their mock battle when she had escaped the village.

She smiled to herself as she seated herself on the ground to watch the fight. There was no point going out there and interfering, she would hate to warp their minds by breaking their beliefs in her fighting abilities, besides, she was in no hurry to kill her friend. And it wasn't like she knew how to do that anyway. Anyway, the ninja's seemed to be keeping Miroku on his toes, from where she was sitting, she could see his black, smoky blood leaking from his wounds.

She knew he was there before he spoke, and any good feelings she had had were immediately vanquished as her face crumpled up in displeasure.

"This is not their fight." Death said, his voice sounding disapproving.

Kagome angled her head to briefly glance at him, she made a look of distaste and openly dismissed him and his statement. She had only turned her eyes back to the battle for a mere second before she felt an incredible pressure grab her around the middle, pinning her arms to the side, and yanking her into the air and turning her around face Death.

Kagome's grin, which had always been disturbing to those who witnessed it, was predatory and outraged as she glared at him. She didn't breathe, blink, or move, merely hung limply in the air and glared, while Death's stance was relatively the same, yet the only movement from his side came from the steady throbbing of his scythe at his side, which glowed darkly as it held Kagome's body in the air.

"Why must you waist time?"

Kagome didn't answer.

"Do you know how much you grate on my nerves?"

Kagome started to laugh.

"What is it?" Death growled, annoyance evident in his voice.

"I'm not afraid of you." Kagome answered, her laugh low and dark.

"Meaning?"

"Means, that destroying you is going to be all the more fun."

"Why so bent on destroying me? I'm not the one who forced your friends into things of nightmares."

"Shut up!" she yelled, kicking out and catching him in the side of his neck, but where he should have fallen to the ground in disgrace, he merely misted away and reformed.

Kagome could tell that he was angry because the pressure around her middle increased to unbearable proportions. She laughed in his face.

"What are you going to do, kill me?" She grunted through her laughter and pain.

Death ignored her question and forced her to turn around and face the battlefield, but as he turned her body, Kagome turned her head, refusing to look.

"Look!" he growled, turning her more, but she did the same until her neck reached it's limit. If she turned anymore she'd break her neck. And with that thought she began to push her limit.

"Cease this nonsense!" Death yelled forcefully turning her head with his bony grip that sent convulsions of disgust and terror down her back as she was forced to watch the ninjas fair in battle.

"Oh how you have fallen." she heard Death whisper to himself, but she ignored him as she watched the battle, and saw how the ninjas were slowing and becoming tired, their movements jerky and sporadic. The battlefield, she noticed, was covered in Miroku's misty blood. Said man, was as fast and ruthless as ever.

"Oh." she muttered in sudden realization. "Well what do you know? Miroku has miasma blood."

Kagome forgot about Death, she forgot about the bonds restraining her, and she forgot that she had just been angry and annoyed. The bonds were gone, she began to stroll down towards the battle, not once feeling Death's gaze on her back.

As she got closer, she heard moans and sounds of pain, she quickened her pace. Not for the urgency of the voices she heard, but for the sudden excitement she felt.

She began to run.

* * *

"I…I can't…breathe." Naruto gasped, trying desperately to make his heavy arms do more than support him off the ground.

"Then…shut up and conserve…your…energy…stupid!" Sasuke growled, though he was in no better shape, kneeling on a numbing knee and his back being the only thing keeping him from falling to the ground.

"What is this stuff?" Sakura moaned, all her weight being supported by one of the decrepit trees.

"Poison." was all Kakashi managed to croak out, being the only one on two feet, before he was bombarded by a wave of fresh attacks from their opponent, whom, he thought, was merely playing with them now.

__

'I don't know how long I can keep this up.'

Kakashi thought, his knees now beginning to quake.

He raked the battlefield looking for their opponent, not trusting what he saw, for the beast seemed to be everywhere at once. One glance would show it speeding towards them from the right, but a second later it would be gone, another glance showed it further back, but as he focused on the spot, there was nothing to be seen. Sometimes he wouldn't even be charging towards them, sometimes walking, others standing still or lounging against a tree.

Trying to hold back a cough, Kakashi nearly choked as the beast suddenly appeared before him, shrouded in the dark evil that now consumed the land. Kakashi didn't try to move, he didn't have time, the beast was too close. It had no claws, nor did it carry a weapon, but the hand that loomed nearer to him was one that meant death. He braced himself as best he could, waiting for the blow, and in return got kicked in the head.

Once down, Kakashi knew he wouldn't be getting back up anytime soon, he had absorbed too much of the poison, he, like his students before him, had not the strength to do more but watch as their fate unfolded before them.

"Lady Kagome, so nice of you to join us." Miroku greeted, not in the least bit annoyed that Kagome had taken away his kill, but, in fact, was grateful to her for having gotten rid of it for him. He was getting bored.

Kagome didn't bother looking at the fallen ninjas, she only had eyes for the dead, _undead?, _monk before her.

"Happy to oblige." Kagome answered, giving him a curtsy with a twisted grin.

"Ah, yes." Miroku grinned his features becoming unobstructed as he returned her curtsy with a polite bow. "Shall we dance?"

Kagome didn't answer, nor did Miroku expect an answer, they simply, and suddenly, plowed into each other.

He aimed a punch at her head, she took the hit but simultaneously jabbed at his stomach. He swung away from it and she grabbed him around the neck and forced her knee into his face.

He staggered back briefly, only to return with a backhand so powerful that she spun on her heel twice before hitting the ground. Kagome flipped onto her back just in time to see Miroku descending and wrapping his hands around her throat with murderous intent. She laughed in his face, and he smiled sadistically. Working her legs under him, she put as much force as she could into them and kicked him off of her.

As she got to her feet, Miroku was already there and hoisting her over his shoulder and into the air. Here is when Miroku should have uttered a corny line, such as: have a nice flight, or, I hate to see you go, but I love watching you leave, or, happy travels, but instead, he merely smiled and flung the lithe girl into a grove of trees.

The first two she hit splintered on impact, but the second and third held firmer and slowed her to a stop.

"I think you broke my back." Kagome accused as the fore mentioned bone, formerly bent at an angle, straightened and rectified itself with a series of pops and cracks.

"That's better." she said to herself before charging at the waiting Miroku, but before she reached him, she flipped onto her hands, wrapped her legs around his neck and hoisted herself up.

Miroku clasped her thighs automatically and smiled at their position. Kagome wasted no time as she began delivering blow after blow to his trapped head. Fist, fist, elbow, fist, head: the pattern was nonexistent.

"That's quite enough of that." Miroku muttered between blows, as he steadied his wavering body. Gripping her legs tightly, Miroku fell to the ground and brought Kagome slamming down onto her back.

The blow should've killed her, or at least knocked her unconscious, but instead, it cracked her skull, sent her into a slight daze, and made her laugh madly at the outcome as Miroku got to his feet and hauled her up along with him.

He held Kagome in the air by her arms and was slowly, and painstakingly, trying to pull them apart. Kagome countered with a kick to the jaw and flipped her way out of his failing grasp, and effectively pulling her arms out of the sockets herself, but with a erratic move, they had righted themselves just in time to block Miroku sudden charge.

He had her on his shoulder, charging towards one of the firmer, sturdier trees that held a promising and broken, pointy branch. Kagome launched herself over his shoulders, and locked her legs around his neck, and as she twisted around and off his back, she heard an audible cracking noise as she broke his neck, but with a sudden burst of strength, Miroku grabbed her around the waist and using their momentum swung her onto the intended branch, impaling them both through the chest.

"This…" Miroku moaned as his neck mended and righted itself, "…is going to take forever."

"Well I'm in no hurry." Kagome laughed, ignoring the pain it caused her.

Noticing the nonexistent space between them, Miroku grinned. "Me either." and with as much ferocity as when they had been fighting, Miroku kissed her again. As last time, Kagome didn't fight back, the numbness seemed to spread even further this time, spreading from where he kissed her and from where he fondled her. Spreading like a disease.

"You taste as good as I thought you would." Miroku said as he finally broke the kiss, and it wasn't until after she saw the blood in and around his mouth did she notice that he had bitten her. "Now what about the rest of you?"

He began to tear open her shirt, but suddenly he let out a mighty scream and tore himself off the branch and away from her, holding his hand as if it was out to kill him.

"Well, look at that, I have killer breasts." smiling, Kagome looked down at herself only to find the Shikon no tama hanging out. "Oh."

She pulled the jewel from around her neck and wrapped it around her fist, the jewel enclosed within it.

"Hey, you lech, come here!" Kagome yelled to the now recovered monk who was shooting murder her way with his eyes.

Kagome smiled at the look and with a sickening, to the forgotten ninjas, squelching noise, Kagome un-skewered herself off the branch and stalked towards her friend.

Such anger there was in Miroku's eyes, that he didn't notice anything different about Kagome's fist until it connected with his face.

The sound Miroku let out was a mix between a growl and yell, while Kagome hooted enthusiastically.

"You bitch!" he yelled, looking up at her and displaying the cracked and brittle looking skin where her fist had connected.

"Oh I got you now!" Kagome laughed, jumping around and feigning punches like a boxer.

Miroku growled once again, Kagome launched herself at him and swung with all her might and missed. Without skipping a beat and recognizing where the threat was coming from, Miroku quickly came up behind her, catching the arm with the jewel with one hand, and pinning Kagome to him with the other.

He drugged her backwards a few paces, and Kagome couldn't figure out what he intended until they had bumped up into a tree. It took Miroku three times to bash her arm against the tree hard enough to make her lose her grip on the jewel. It fell through the air ominously slow.

Watching it fall, Kagome didn't have time to react before Miroku threw her to the ground and dashed after the jewel. What resulted was a scrambling that would have been funny if there weren't half dead children on the battlefield who had been poisoned, and that the woman involved wasn't a mere, yet cracked, shadow of her former self, and that the monk turned demonic rapist involved wasn't planning to kill and victimize the entire country side if he succeeded in getting rid of one simple jewel. Other than that, it would have been hysterical.

Miroku raised his foot to smash the jewel, but Kagome jumped him at the waist and brought them both crashing down. Their impact made the jewel roll down the slightly hilled land. Kagome made a grab for it, but as she scrambled over him, Miroku grabbed her around the waist and crushed her into the ground as he made to catch it.

Kagome pulled her face from the dirt laughing hysterically, dirt and filth falling from her face as she fumbled at Miroku's feet, tripping him as she tried to catch hold. Miroku growled in anger and annoyance as he turned from the jewel and began kicking the lunatic girl in the face, trying to dislodge her from his legs.

"This is very unladylike!" Miroku growled, delivering a kick with each word.

"Tell me about it." Kagome retorted from a bloody and bruised face before bringing her mouth down on Miroku's ankle.

During the fight with the ninja's, in which Miroku suffered many wounds, the twisted monk never uttered a sound, yet, as Kagome teeth took hold of his foot, he yelled in pain as he abandoned the jewel entirely in order to remove Kagome from him. He beat at her, he pulled and pushed, he even tried biting her back , but Kagome didn't let up until she was good and ready.

"Seems you spent too much time around dogs!" Miroku growled once he managed to slap her loose .

Kagome didn't say anything as she picked herself up from where she had fallen, smiling.

Miroku's anger was replaced with suspicion as he eyed her tightlipped smile. But before he could get a clue about her intentions, a stream of black liquid seeped from Kagome's lips just before she spat it out, directly into Miroku's eyes.

"That's very ungentlemanly like." Kagome muttered as Miroku hollered obscenities in between his yells of pain.

Kagome spat again as she stood up, ignoring the screaming Miroku squirming on the ground and trying to get his own poisoned blood out of his eyes. Her smile was gone now, she knew that she was almost done with Miroku. She knew that she wouldn't be happy when this time came, but she wasn't sad either. She felt nothing. She was empty.

Just like the jewel, she thought, as she bent down to pick up the seemingly harmless, pink jewel. By the time she had returned to Miroku, his screams were reduced to mere growls and now he was up on his feet, but he didn't seem to notice Kagome standing in front of him. She smiled sadly at what she was about to do.

"I'm going to make it all right again, Miroku." She muttered, gaining his attention, but before he could do anything, she had forced the Shikon no Tama into his mouth, and with a quick uppercut to the jaw, had it down his throat and into the inner workings of his body.

At first nothing happened and he merely looked at her blankly, but when the first wave of pain hit him, his hands shot up and clutched at her shoulders, his eyes wide in disbelief.

Smoke began issuing from his eyes and mouth, he cried out as the pain hit him, his body was shaking, but his hold on Kagome was still strong. Miroku was dying.

"…Kagome…" he managed to say through his cries as he fell to his knees, bringing her along with him.

Kagome felt as if her soul was splitting open as she sat and watched her friend die, she thought she felt the tears she had been unable to shed cascade down her face, but she was unable to check, Miroku had too firm a grip and she dared not shake him off.

She watched as his skin turned brittle and gray. Cracks started to appear, starting from his chest, where she assumed to jewel was lodged, and spread up his neck and down his arms and legs. He didn't say anything else, didn't even attempt to call out to her again, he just screamed and screamed, as his eyes turned a blind white and light began emanate from his mouth and the many fractures in his skin.

"I'm sorry!" she finally screamed, unable to watch his torment anymore as she flung herself onto him, clutching him tightly and crying her nonexistent tears into life. "I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you! Any of you! You've got to understand! They took my family, _my baby_, I'm sorry! Forgive me!"

"Kagome…" he moaned again, this time a bit more clearly.

Kagome let go to look at him and found his stare directly on her.

He made an obvious effort to hold back his anguish as he tried to speak, but finally he gave up and smiled, closing his eyes, and as he did so the light became blinding and he seemed to implode into dust.

"Miroku!" Kagome yelled frantically as she clutched at the dust in a panic. She hadn't been expecting that to happen. She thought he would merely fall over dead, not completely disintegrate.

"NO!" she yelled, as an unfelt wind manifested itself and began scattering the dust that was Miroku. "Stop it! Stop!" she yelled trying to save as much as she could, to no avail.

Completely distraught, Kagome slumped onto the ground, wishing that she the ground would just open up and take her away, but as she sat in the quiet the remaining wind blew through her hair and a soft voice whispered into her ear. "Thank you."

She smiled.

* * *

Her smile had been genuine. She didn't feel like laughing, she only felt sadness and remorse. She was alone again, and she hated it. That's how she knew a part of sanity had been returned.

Kagome stayed where she sat until valley was suddenly bathed in an unnatural light. The door into the In-Between was now open and waiting. It was time to go.

"Ok." she muttered to herself, ready to free her next friend from the hell she had inflicted upon them. After feeling the relief and happiness from Miroku's final goodbye, Kagome didn't dare wish for any of them to suffer a moment longer. It's the least she could do.

Before getting to her feet, Kagome laid eyes at the spot Miroku had last been, and saw, laying in the light of the door, the Shikon no Tama, looking innocent, but no longer feeling.

She picked it up and felt the malevolent power within. When Miroku had come into contact with it, the jewel had taken back his borrowed powers, leaving him a dried up soul with no body to retain it and no evil to power it. At her touch it purified, but as before, the jewel was pure, but the power inside still evil.

She wondered, looking at it as she began to walk, what would happen once all her friends had been saved. Would she have to suffer through protecting the damned thing again, would she finally die and leave it and the world to their own accord, or would they both cease to be.

She really hoped it was the latter.

"Well, ninjas." she announced as she finally arrived at the fallen ninjas, who, as of yet, were still unable to move. "You all fought valiantly. And if it wasn't for his poisoned blood, I'm pretty sure you could have beat him, maybe. Why wasn't I affected, you wonder? Who knows? Maybe because I can't die. Maybe, I don't know. But as I was saying, you all did a good job. But it's time for us to go."

Us.

The meaning of the word was not lost on the ninja's. Unable to move, they all yelled and squirmed in protest. But Kagome was deaf to their complaints as she waltzed through their immobile ranks, her mind focused on one thing and one thing only. Naruto.

"You and I are going to have some great adventures together." Kagome said as she reached the wide-eyed boy. Smiling at him softly, she hoisted his limp body onto her shoulder, but as she turned around to face the doorway, she found Kakashi had managed to rise to his feet, but the effort exhausted him to the point of unconsciousness. He could barely lift an eyelid let alone a hand in defending Naruto against her abducting.

Kagome saw this and smiled gently at him. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him." Shifting the squirming boy on her shoulder, Kagome walked forward boldly and pushed the man back down onto the ground, where he could no longer move a muscle. The other two she ignored as their attempts to stand ended with them falling face first into the dirt.

"You're basically alone in that village of yours." Kagome chatted, not noticing the boy's yells of defiance. "I'm alone too, so I thought we could help each other out."

"You'll like it where we're going. You'll see all new worlds and people. We'll be like a family of two, fighting evil and righting my wrongs together."

Kagome was feeling so optimistic about her future that she didn't notice the figure standing before the gate until she was a few feet away. When she saw him, her smile went away.

"Move." she demanded, already knowing why he was there.

"He doesn't belong with you." Death said in a placating voice, not moving from his current position.

"No!" She yelled in sudden fury, clutching Naruto tightly to herself. "Let me have him!"

"His place is here, Kagome, not with you. You shouldn't have involved them in your matters, in the first place. You're only torturing yourself. Let him go!"

"NO!" she moaned, falling to her knees and dropping Naruto onto the ground. "Why!" She yelled, jumping to her feet again and charging at the dark entity. "Why do I have to be alone? Why can't I have somebody? Why must you punish me more?" She raised a fist to hit him, but she never made it before he had pulled the scythe out and forced her to stop with a great imposing force.

She stood frozen in place for a second, her hair blowing in the force that was Death's power. And though his strength was imposing, his voice was pacifying. "By taking this boy away _you punish him_. He has a life here, he has own destiny to follow. He is not alone, he has friends, and you wouldn't wish to inflict upon them the pain you feel at the absence of your loved ones would you? You are alone because you chose wrong. Don't make that mistake again."

At the end of his sermon, Death flung Kagome away, sending her skidding across the ground where she lay motionless until his presence faded. She felt heavy with oppressed sadness, at guilt of what she had almost done, and of the constant gnawing of loneliness at her heart.

Silently Kagome stood up and surveyed her surroundings, nothing stirred and the gate still stood open patiently and laying by it's mouth was Naruto. She made her way over to him and scooped him up into her arms. She didn't look at him as she returned him to the others.

"I won't say I'm sorry for what I did, because I'm not. I'm not sorry. I'm only sorry he stopped me." She strolled amongst the ninjas and propped Naruto up against a tree.

"I really wanted you to come with me." She told him as she crouched down to meet his eyes. "You remind me so much of Shippo, and having you with me, would have been like having part of my old life back. I would have taken good care of you, I would have treated you like my own son." Kagome looked as if she was about to say more, but stood up at the last minute.

"You would have made a good mother." Naruto said, guessing at what she had wanted to say, as she walked towards Sakura.

"Now you make sure you keep these guys in line." Kagome told the young girl as she carried her to where Naruto sat.

"Always have, I'll just make sure to work harder now." Sakura answered, giving Kagome a small smile.

"Good. Make right decisions."

"Now you, dark prince." Kagome began as she reached Sasuke and began hauling him over to the others. "Smile more often and get a personality."

"I have one." Sasuke growled annoyed.

"Get one that people like. Because someone is going to kick your ass one day."

"Highly doubt it." He smirked.

"A smirk. Right. Close enough. _You_, _psychotic child_."

"He isn't the only orphan in the village you know." Sasuke said lowly under his breath so that only Kagome heard, but he didn't notice or see Kagome glance back at him as she moved towards Kakashi.

"Listen, Cyclops." Kagome grunted as she drug the ninja over to sit with his students. "I want you to stop hanging around these children so much, it's creepy. You need some adult friends and most definitely a woman."

"I tried to get one, but she seemed oblivious to my subtle advances." Kakashi said lazily, not trying to help as Kagome struggled to haul his body up against the tree.

"Did you grope her, pervert?" Kagome asked, as she finally gave up and left him as straight as she could.

"I offered, but she never got back to me."

"Then sounds like you might have a chance there, I think. Well, _this _is good-bye then." Kagome told them as she stood up and gave them her glum smile. Obvious that her mood wouldn't get any better by staying, Kagome turned to leave, knowing that they'd be able to move by sunrise.

"Hey Kagome." Naruto yelled after her.

Stopping, Kagome turned her head to look back at him.

"You know, there's an empty room at my place, if, _when_, you ever get done. I'm tired of living by myself."

Kagome smiled brightly at the invitation, and nodding her head at him, she took off for the gate at a run and disappeared inside it.

* * *

And thus, Kagome time in the world of ninjas ended.

Now it was time to hunt again. This time…it was Sango.

Sango's terror wasn't as perverse as Miroku's, but it was just as gruesome. Sango, it seemed, was filled with rage and bitterness. She plagued the land by destroying whole families, especially the larger ones, and leaving only one survivor each time. Leaving only one daughter from each family. Spreading the pain she felt, spreading her life's misery, spreading anguish and sorrow in her wake.

Upon arrival in the new world, Kagome hadn't been aware that others had been hunting Sango too. Unlike with Miroku, the other force knew of Sango, but as Kagome bounded onto the scene, Sango left the world. Leaving Kagome alone to wait for the new moon. Leaving Kagome to answer to the force. Leaving Kagome alone to meet _him_.

They had assumed that she was in cahoots with Sango and had attacked. Naturally their efforts were futile and so naturally they called him in to do the job.

The man was insane. He loved the fact that she couldn't die, finding this out after having filled her with lead, dismembering her, and eating her whole.

* * *

"For God's sakes, Alucard, let her go!" Integra demanded, as Alucard drifted into her office, a big smile on his face as he waited for Kagome to start up again.

"At least do it somewhere else, if you must insist upon it!" Integra growled, bringing her fist down upon her desk to show how serious she was.

But Alucard ignored her as his smile widened.

"Please, Master, it's sickening!"

Alucard's stomach bulged., and he began laughing.

"Oh god." Integra moaned, giving up the fight as she began removing valuables from her desk.

Victoria said nothing and only turned a sickened face away from the oncoming massacre. Although she didn't see it, she heard it. The sound of tearing flesh and the gasping of a girl free from her prison, and then the sound of a body's innards scattering throughout the room and onto the floor.

Kagome stood in the middle of the room, breathing heavily and covered in gore while holding Alucard's rib in her hand, the same rib she used every time she hacked her way out of the vampire's body.

She couldn't understand why he loved this. It happened everyday since she had arrived to this place. After he ate her the first time and she broke free, she thought it was over. But oh and behold he could regenerate and start the process all over again. And he would laugh and laugh and make sure that they would have an audience every time. He loved it and she couldn't understand why.

"H-hi Kagome." Seras Victoria greeted, looking as sick as she always did when Kagome would appear.

"How do you tolerate him?" Kagome grumbled, peeling pieces of Alucard off her shoulder.

"We have no choice." Integra said, glaring at the mess on her desk.

"Is everything alright…oh dear." Walter entered the office and cast an unsurprised eye at the Alucard covered occupants. "I would say good to see you Kagome, but we never meet under good circumstances."

Kagome grimaced at the elderly butler, but her face turned distraught as the laughter began again. That could only mean one thing…Alucard was ready to play again.

Tossing his bone to the floor, Kagome took off at a dead run.

"Not the window!" Integra yelled, but it was too late.

Throwing her arms up to protect her head, Kagome smashed through the window. The night was dark except for a few stars, but no moon there could be seen. The night of the new moon, and directly below her, waiting to catch her falling body, was the door to the In-Between. Twisting in mid-air, Kagome caught sight of the maniac vampire, smiling down at her from the broken window, making no attempt to retain her.

As Kagome watched him get farther and farther away, she found herself smiling back at him in earnest. She was going to miss that smiling bloodsucker.


	8. Prt 2 Chp 7

* * *

**Part 2/Chp. 7 Lonely**

* * *

She knew she shouldn't be enjoying this, but…She couldn't help but smile.

No, she wasn't full out laughing anymore, no, all she could manage was a smile.

"You can't run forever!" The demons yelled behind her, making her smirk.

What pathetic excuse for demons. On arrival to this strange land, her suspicion of the jewel's wakefulness was confirmed after hordes of crazed demons had come searching for the source of the strange powers. Demons, though they were, they were unable to comprehend that the power was coming from the jewel and not her, so this is why she constantly found herself on the run now.

Yet she didn't mind the non-stop running, at least this way she didn't have time to let her sanity reminisce on her current state of loneliness, or her tragic life, or her mistakes, or past events, basically everything. So she figured not being able to think was worth running for three days straight without rest.

She hadn't been running from the start. No, she'd been in the new world long enough to realize a few things. Demons, it seemed, used to coincide happily with the humans, then they just went nuts. Terrorizing the countryside and townspeople. Every now and then she'd meet demons who weren't insane, but they were few and far in between.

There could have been more sane demons, but she was too busy to notice. Sango had run here after she had left Kagome with Alucard, whom Kagome felt a longing for every now and then. She spent most of her time, when not being chased by demon hordes, trying to catch and kill Sango, who, unlike Miroku, spent her time terrorizing people and avoiding Kagome.

Kagome couldn't get a good reading on her. Sango never called out, she'd always move whenever Kagome came close to tracking her, and Sango's exploits went mostly unknown until Kagome came across a village that heard from another village, that a neighboring village knew of a village that had a family that had been slaughtered with only one girl surviving. And this only came if the surviving girl was found from where Sango had buried her alive.

Sango was bitter.

Kagome's boot caught a branch.

"Oh this isn't good." she managed to moan as she went tumbling head over heels and head into rock.

* * *

Trees.

Road.

Trees and road.

They never ended. They just kept going on and on. There seemed to be no end in sight, and the Sanzo-Party were dieing.

Not from lack of food. No the forest provided plenty of vegetation and wildlife for them to consume. No, they were not dieing from starvation. They weren't dieing from dehydration either. They had been stocked up on plenty of water when they had set off into the forest and they had just restocked what they had consumed when they had passed a secluded lake a few miles back. No, they were not dieing from dehydration. Nor were they sick, wounded, or tripping on psychedelic mushrooms. Though they would have welcomed the change.

The Sanzo-Party were, in fact, dieing from boredom. Seven days they had been traveling on the road through the forest, and they had yet to reach the end. They were bored out of their mind.

They drove with a zombi-fied, numbness to their surroundings. Staring without seeing, sprawled listlessly in their seats, not speaking and only mumbling or groaning if the need came. And the need rarely came now.

Routine zombie doings, dulled the senses, it made you slow to react and unaware of the happenings around you until it was too late. Which is why when the group of demons suddenly ran into the road, Hakkai hit them, or maybe he did it just for something to do.

"What the hell was that?" Gojyo yelled, becoming alert for the first time in days.

"Vehicular homicide." Sanzo answered flatly, straightening himself in his seat, while Hakkai smiled sheepishly.

Goku, in the meanwhile, after rousing himself from his stupor, was currently trying to figure out just what the demons were up to. The ones that got hit were recuperating, but the others, the others had barely acknowledged them. They were the Sanzo-Party for crying aloud, yet, the demons were busy fussing with some lumpy bag they had dropped.

"Is everyone alright?" Hakkai asked turning around to examine them himself.

"Better than that demon you hit." Gojyo replied shortly before turning his attention to the silent Goku. "Hey, wake up, time for some exercise."

Goku barely spared the kappa a second glance as all his attention was now on the bag too. He wanted it, and didn't know why. "Hey what's wrong with you? Didn't you hear…?"

"Hey!" Goku suddenly yelled shrugging off the hold Gojyo had gotten on him.

"What?" Gojyo yelled back defensively, "I was just…" but his words fell onto deaf ears as Goku swiftly leaped from the jeep and ran towards the unsuspecting demons.

"Hey let go!" one of the demons yelled frantically as Goku grabbed the bag and tried to yank it from their grasp.

"No, you let go! I want this bag!"

"But it's ours!" the demons' yelled in protest as they yanked the bag closer to them.

"Let me just have a peek then!" Goku yelled pulling harder.

"Uh…is he mugging them?" Gojyo wondered aloud as they stared at the bizarre tug-of-war.

"It would seem like it." Hakkai.

"Give it up!" Goku growled threatingly.

"Take a hike!" the demons yelled back.

The tug-o-war continued back and forth, neither gaining nor losing their grips. Goku, for unknown reasons, had suddenly been gripped by a desire to have the bag, while the demons, on the other hand, had every right to fight back. It was their damn bag. The two sides fought diligently for control of the bag, the bag just hung neutrally between them, and it wasn't until Gojyo joined the mêlée that the bag began showing signs of indecision.

"Lay off, and just give them the bag." Gojyo reasoned as he came over to snatch the bags from both their grasp, but as he laid hands on it and tugged…the bag ripped.

"Our food!" the demons wailed as a mound of rolls, cheese, and meat formed on the ground.

"You bastard, why?" One of the demons yelled aloud, shaking a fist to the heavens and crying like the entire world was doomed.

"Food?" Gojyo said in disgust, looking from the demons scrambling at their meal, to a misty-eyed Goku. "What'd you, smell it through the burlap?"

Instead of answering, Goku ducked his head in embarrassment while smiling sheepishly at no one.

"You disgust me." Gojyo managed to spurt out before he was tackled from behind.

Goku, who had gone into a fighting stance when Gojyo went down, felt his breath catch in his throat. He had thought it was a demon that attacked, but after seeing the obvious feminine body straddling Gojyo's back he had eased up a bit, but when the lady picked herself up and looked up at him, a feeling had run through his body that had never crossed his thought of mind. So alien the feeling, he couldn't even identify it.

"Hey, get the hell off me!" Gojyo growled as he began to sit up and sent the girl toppling onto the ground where Goku was quick to assist.

"Hey are you alright?" Goku asked concern deep in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine I just…" Gojyo, upon discovering that Goku wasn't talking to him, stopped talking and turned an irritated eye to see who Goku was more concerned about.

What he saw was Goku fussing over a silent woman with thick, black hair pulled back into a braid. She stood only a few inches taller that Goku and wore khaki shorts, with a button-up white sleeveless shirt tucked into them and brown boots on her feet. She looking like a wanna-be hiker.

Gojyo's assessment of the woman ended their, for behind him, a horde of demons burst from where the woman had come and surrounded them.

"Give us the girl and no one gets hurt." One of the demons, the leader, they guessed, threatened in a cocky and grisly manner.

Goku pushed the woman behind him and whirled his staff around expertly, partly to intimidate the demons and partly to show-off; a grin spread out onto his face.

Gojyo, with his shakujo placed leisurely across his shoulders, stood up straighter, cocked his head to the side and looked at the demons; a crooked smile erupted onto his face.

"Oh, someone's going to get hurt alright." Gojyo said, seeing an end to the boredom.

"But it's not going to be us." Goku added, giddy glee causing him to fidget.

With confused looks on their faces, the demons glanced at each other in a moment of hesitation before attacking.

_'What are they, bored?'_

Kagome wondered as she let herself be protected by the strange men. Well, demons, well a demon, a hanyou, a human, and…something old. The something old was the one protecting her, and he reeked of an otherness. He slightly resembled Death in that sense.

The demon and the human, she saw, sat unconcerned in a jeep, watching the other two fight. She caught a whiff of the human's soul, and she smiled curiously at the odd mixture of smoke, annoyance, and holy powers.

She was suddenly jerked from her observations as the old smelling one snaked a hand around her waist and tossed her. Well, that was what she would call the sudden increase in elevation and the disorienting turnabout with vertigo followed by an abrupt decrease in altitude. She landed on her feet with her heart thumping madly in her chest and her mind trying to overflow and escape from her grasp.

That had been just a bit too much fun.

"Hey, are you alright?" The old one asked worriedly after dispatching the demon that had been sneaking up behind her, answering the question as to why he had tossed her.

Still recovering from her shock, Kagome just stared at him as she tried to catch her breath.

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that, but he was about to get you and I couldn't think of any other way." He answered with a nervous laugh, looking sheepish.

Still trying to calm her heart, Kagome just stared, and in doing so, caught the eye of the demon about to clobber the old smelling young man in front of her.

"Hey…I didn't hurt you did I?" he asked hurriedly, concern written all over his face. She would have laughed at his distress, but she was too focused on returning the favor.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, reaching a hand out to grasp her shoulder in a reassuring manner, but before he could touch her, Kagome had snatched it and yanked him toward her.

To say he was surprised would have been an understatement, but when the woman used his momentum to hurl herself pass him and land a knockout kick into the face of a lurking demon, he was simply shocked.

"Hey!" he called out as he hit the ground.

The woman heard him and turned to look down at him. However, when their eyes met, he found he couldn't say anything. He just stared at her, while she basically did the same, but after a second she quirked her head and gave him a curious smile. He actually guffawed as a goofy smile sprang onto his face.

The woman's smile widened at this before she turned-tail and ran.

"No wait!" he yelled springing his feet, intent on chasing after the woman, but found himself back on the ground as he was trampled by demons on their way after the woman.

They didn't get far before Gojyo was on them.

"Where the hell were you?" Gojyo yelled, "I'm busting my ass and you're taking a nap?"

"You seem to be doing just fine to me." Goku muttered as he finally joined the fray, ready to be rid of the scum so that he could go after the woman.

"Let's get the hell out…" the demon was cutoff mid-sentence as the butt of Goku's staff collided with his head. Thus, the fight was over, all the demons were dead, unconscious, or fled for their lives.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Gojyo demanded catching Goku by the arm and holding him back.

"I have to go find that girl, the demons were after her." Goku's yelled through his struggling. But for all his work, he didn't move an inch while within Gojyo's grasp.

"That girl?" Gojyo asked, using his magnificent skills to light a cigarette while still keeping the struggling Goku in restraints. "She's probably a native in some village close by and came a little too deep into the woods. She's most likely more than halfway home by now."

"But the demons." Goku persisted although his struggles began to ease.

"We scared them off. Let her go."

Goku became slack in his grasp. "You sure?" he asked, looking longingly at where the girl had disappeared.

"Yeah!" Gojyo snapped, dropping his companion to the ground. "Let her go! What'd you, smell food on her too?"

"She smelled like ramen." Goku moaned loudly.

"Stop screwing around!" Sanzo yelled from the jeep, finally annoyed to the point of blessing them with the sound of his voice.

* * *

Time seemed to slip by in the jeep as road after endless road streamed alongside tree after endless tree. Three more days of the same old thing and the group was back into coma-like trances.

The first day had been fine, they talked about their fight with the demons and Hakkai's and Sanzo's lack of participation. They talked about Goku's freaking out over the smell of food. But the talking became monotonous and soon dwindled into grunts and finally silence.

**Zombi-fied Sanzo-party part two.**

Boredom does strange things to people, you learn things about people you never knew, and so if a woman suddenly drops out of the sky to land on the hood of a jeep, no one could be blamed for letting out a high pitched, girly scream and pissing Sanzo off.

"Who the hell was that?" Sanzo growled angrily, his ears still ringing, as he turned to glare into the backseat.

"Hey…. "Goku groaned as he came out of his stupor. "….change of scenery." Looking around, Goku saw that they now had left the woods behind to travel in the valley of two rocky hills. But on further inspection saw that the forest laid just on the other side of the hill and just behind them. "Nice."

"What'd you hit this time, Hakkai?" Gojyo unconcernedly asked as he stretched.

"I didn't hit anything." Hakkai responded in defense. "But there does seem to be a dead girl on the hood."

Said dead girl, took that moment to regain consciousness and groan loudly in pain as she seemed to try to curl up into herself. The awkward silence that followed was broken by Goku's yell of outrage.

"You said you were sure!" Goku yelled as he proceeded in attempting to end Gojyo's life.

"Get off!" Gojyo hollered in return, fighting the angry monkey off.

Sanzo took a deep breath and prayed for patience. "Go…check…the girl…."

Hakkai tried to hide the smile that threatened to erupt onto his face. He simply nodded as he got out the car, ignoring the sudden yells of pain that issued from the backseat as Sanzo issued his wrath. His attention was mainly on the girl writhing in pain on the hood of the jeep.

"Are you alright, Miss?"

She opened her eyes, eye, at the sound of his voice. "I'll be alright in a moment," the lady answered, cringing as she spoke. "You look nice. Please don't be a psycho."

Hakkai smiled down at her. "Do not worry, but, I can not say the same for my companions." This earned him a pained laughed from the injured woman as he gently hoisted her off the hood and carried her off to the side of the road, his hand splayed across her back giving off healing ki.

"Ooh, that's nice." she murmured into the crook of his neck as she held onto him.

"How ever did you manage that little feat of yours?" he asked as he sat her down and releasing his hold as Goku was suddenly there and propping her up himself.

"Lots of practice." she said with a weak smile as she arched her back experimentally, and then Gojyo was suddenly there. "Oh, and you have to be dropped from a great height by a big bird."

"A big bird?" Goku asked skeptically as he helped the woman to her feet.

"Well, bird demon, I guess. Demon with feathers and big talons, smells like guano. Him in-fact."

"What?"

"That demon!" the woman yelled, pointing up into the sky, before diving to the ground, and effectively bringing the boys down with her just as a pair of sharp talons passed over their heads.

"What the hell was that?" Gojyo yelled.

"I call him Jim," the woman answered as she got to her feet and dusted herself off. "But you don't have to worry about Jim, I think he likes me, but it's the rest of the flock you have to watch for."

"The rest of the flock?"

"Yeah, birds fly in groups called…." but what they were called never left her mouth for the next moment they found her rising rapidly into the air.

"You see, _flock_!" the woman yelled down to the group as she tried to dislodge the demons claws from her forearms.

"Yeah, yeah." Gojyo muttered to himself as he launched himself at the two and caught the woman around the legs, his added weight making the demon fly lower.

"Is that all you had planned?" the woman asked in a calm voice, despite the situation.

"Beggars can't be choosers." Gojyo retorted, his feet dragging the ground with his effort to pull the woman down.

"Let go, my pants are falling!"

"I think you can handle the embarrassment, for the price of your life."

"Well when you put it like that…"

A gunshot suddenly tore through the air, the hold on Kagome's arm was finally elated, and she fell to earth. Unfortunately, Gojyo hadn't released his hold and became her landing mat.

"_Hey..._I recognize that waistline! You're that guy I fell on a few days ago."

"Are you serious?"

"What are you doing?" Goku yelled as he made it to their side, throwing a hand around Kagome's waist and lifting her up while throwing Gojyo a dirty look.

"Who shot me down?" Kagome asked, oblivious to the arm around her waist.

"Hey, you two, leave that damn woman alone and get to work!" Sanzo barked making his presence known as he and Hakkai crowded around them, firing down any and all bird demons that came too close.

"Hey, I appreciate your help, but I don't think that's going to be much help against the dirt divers."

"Dirt divers?" Sanzo muttered, turning to glance at her.

"The other demons that were chasing me."

"Who are the dirt divers?" Goku asked, swatting at the airborne demons.

"Them." she answered simply, pointing off to the side.

Sparing a glance, the Sanzo-party saw the ground boiling as something rolled underneath its surface toward them.

"They're not really under the ground, they _are_ the ground. They melt into rock too. I just thought I'll let you know that."

"Why are they all after you?" Sanzo asked, in his growling voice.

"Because I'm pretty and they're jealous."

"Right." Sanzo quipped, while simultaneously grabbing her by the arm and throwing her out of harms way as one of the bird demons made a lunge for her. But while firing at the demon, another one swooped her up from behind. This time there was no one grab hold of her legs.

"This is getting the old!" Kagome yelled as she threw her legs up and repeatedly kicked the demon in the face, until she was dropped once more. This time, there was no hanyou for her to fall on, but the ground did explode and she fell into the arms of the five demons that had collected there. For a moment, although they were on the same team, the demons fought over her, buying time until rescue came in the form of an old smelling young man with a bow staff.

Goku had gone into berserk mode. He maneuvered his staff faster and deadlier than ever. Each impact caused the dirt demons to implode, and he didn't stop until it was no one left but he and Kagome.

Breathing heavily, Goku planted his staff onto the ground and leaned on it for support as he grinned at her. "So, what do you think?"

"You did good, but you might want to move."

"Huh?"

The ground became liquid, and before Goku could issue another word, his staff sunk into the ground, making him lose his balance and fall. And before he could register what had happened, a pair of hands oozed from the ground and pulled him under.

"No, you don't." Kagome told no one in particular, reaching for the lost boy before the ground solidified again.

"It's horrible in there!" Goku cried out as he was hauled back into freedom, staff securely in hand, and filth covering every inch of his body.

"I know, huh?" Kagome laughed. "And some people take mud baths for comfort."

"You can't imagine the horror I've…HEY!" In the middle of his rant, to his utmost horror, the woman suddenly disappeared. "NO!" he yelled, catching sight of her hands, as she was drug underground.

"Got you!" planting his feet, Goku grabbed what remained of her hands and pulled.

But the demon on the other end pulled harder and Goku found himself half buried again. "Hang on!" he called, though he seemed to be talking more to himself than the woman lost underground. Still feeling her hands in his grasp, he tightened his hold, and though the position he put himself in was awkward, it gave him the right amount of leverage he needed. With his feet planted firmly on either side of his head, his muscles bulging, and dirt in his mouth, Goku pulled again. Nothing happened at first, except that his muscles began to tremble from the effort, but after a moment's hesitation, Goku moved. The movement was subtle, barely even an inch, but it did happen.

"Come on!" he grunted, pulling harder.

The fingers in his hands wiggled in response as inch by inch more and more of the owner was exposed, until, with one mighty heave a woman, a filthy woman, burst free from the earth and latched down onto an equally filthy Goku. Right on her tail, the angry dirt diver emerged from the hole, growling angrily and brandishing threatening claws at them, but a vicious swat from Goku's staff sent the demon flinging from it's hole to crash and crumble feet away from the two.

"Hey," the woman breathed, wiping dirt from Goku's face.

"Hey yourself." Goku smiled, never letting up his hold on the woman.

"Goku, we could use a little help over here." Hakkai's polite voice announced over the ruckus.

"Oh, right!" Goku agreed, setting the woman down but grabbing hold of her arm as he ran over to the others, who were busy fending off bird talons from the air, and grabbing hands from the ground.

"Stay here!" he told her, placing her close to Sanzo and Hakkai, as he went to assist Gojyo.

"He's sweet." Kagome said aloud to herself, or to anyone who was listening.

"Get back!"

Kagome wasn't sure who had yelled at her until something big, tall, and blonde had forcefully pushed her out harms way, as a double attack form both land and air, had nearly gotten her.

"Oh this is really getting old." she mumbled to herself, pushing herself off the rocky hillside she had fallen into.

"Hey, I don't like getting…hey!" At first getting ready to yell at the blonde, Kagome had gotten distracted by the eye that was suddenly looking at her from the hill. "Hey, somebody." she called out warningly, but before anyone could come to her rescue, the demon attacked.

"No!" she yelled, as the demon grabbed her shirt and tried to pull her into the rocky terrain. "Be gone you grimy whore!" Though the demon had a hold on her, Kagome thought she was holding up good on her own. She had one foot planted on a firm piece of rock face and she was successfully keeping from getting drug into the rock, but it wasn't until the demon had grabbed her hair did she let out a war cry.

"Ahh! Let go!" she yelled, striking out at the demon's face, but as her fist made contact, the demon had pulled his head back into the rock, she only felt stone and pain as her fingers broke on impact.

She didn't so much as scream as she did growl, which ever one it was, it did what it was suppose too. She got someone's attention.

"Hi, Blondie!" she greeted enthusiastically, as Sanzo, growling and scowling, arrived and attempeted to pull her free. Attempt being the keyword. "Come on, pull harder!" she coaxed huffily. "Put your back into it! You're a big strong, healthy young man, use that…" Kagome stopped her rant and looked at him over her shoudler. "…30, 40 something? Use that 40 something year old back!"

"Would you be quiet!" Sanzo growled angrily, grunting against the strain of keeping the annoying woman alive.

Instead of replying, Kagome braced herself against his chest and began stomping angrily into the rock, hoping to get a hit on the actual demon. Succes came when the hold on Kagome was realeased and she and Sanzo fell to the ground.

"Freedom! _NO_!" her success was short lived as she found her foot was cemented into the hill and something on the other end was pulling. "Don't you have a gun?" Kagome yelled springing to her other foot and twisting to face an irritated Sanzo. "Shoot it!"

"Shut the hell up, and let me handle this!"

"Right." Kagome answered, letting the blonde takeover, while she hung listlessly between the two, but since she was literally being stretched to her limit, no one noticed.

"Hakkai!" Sanzo yelled, as he altered the woman's position in his arms. Hakkai stood at his elbow a second later, looking at their predicament with mixed feelings.

"Need assisting?" he asked, trying to keep his face straight. Sanzo didn't appreciate the effort.

"What do you think?" Sanzo growled.

"You are going to hurt your throat." Kagome commented, but other than a look from Sanzo, she was ignored.

Trying to hide his smile again, Hakkai made to help, but before he could move he was fending off the attack of one the aerial demons. With all three distracted, the demon in the rock took the opportunity to act. He let his hold on Kagome go, causing the two to fall to the ground, and while their guard was down, he grabbed her foot again and made one more mighty lurch while simultaneously erupting from the rock to tackle Hakkai. What the demon wasn't counting on was for Sanzo to still have a hold on her, and instead of having Kagome trapped in the stone where he could get her later, he instead had a partially trapped Kagome, with a partially trapped Sanzo in her face.

Everything from her thighs to just below her chest was stuck in the stone, along with her elbows, while Sanzo's left knee disappeared in the space between Kagome's legs and both his arms were gone up to the forearm on either side of Kagome's torso. The two were so close together that they had to hold their heads in the crook of each other's neck to keep their faces from being mashed together.

"Well, this is awkward." Sanzo surprisingly said, making Kagome laugh.

"Okay, this has got to end. Cover your ears."

On hearing this, Sanzo raised his head up just enough to give her a look.

"Right, you have no arms." Smiling, Kagome maneuvered her arms just enough to cover Sanzo's ears. "Hey, I give up! I give up!" she yelled over the din of battle, making everyone stop to stare at her in astonishment.

Goku, who was being held in the air by a bird demon, stopped strangling the dirt demon in his hands, but kept his teeth firmly clamped on the bird's leg. Gojyo, with a bird demon pulling his hiar, and a dirt demon waiting to be punched in his arms, stopped his assault mere inches from the demons face. And Hakkai, along with the two bird demons and one lone dirt demon he was trussing around on the ground with, all stopped their battle to stare at her.

"What?" she heard someone, or something, ask.

"I give up! I'm just tired of being used for tug-o-war practice. I'll go along quietly."

"But…!" Goku began in protest punching his demon one last time, but Kagome continued over his yells.

"Please!But I don't want just any old demon to have me. I'll go with the strongest pack."

"Then that's us!" the bird demons yelled swooping in to collect her, but a clod of dirt and stone stopped them mid-flight.

"She said strongest, not dumbest!" One of the dirt demons yelled, all of them rising from the ground to fight.

The fight that issued was funny, entertaining, and quite effective in getting rid of their pest problem.

"So stupid." Kagome muttered once the demons had finished themselves off. "Okay, guy, how are we going to get out of here?"

That was a good question.

"Sanzo!" Goku yelled loudly, finally getting an eyeful of their predicament. "_What are you doing_?"

Sanzo sighed. "Hakkai."

This time, Hakkai didn't even try to hide his amusement. "Don't move." he told them as he held up his hand.

* * *

"On the count of three! And _pull_!"

"Oh, I felt a little movement that time." Kagome laughed.

They had been at this for over half an hour now, and all they managed to do was pulverize the hell out of the rock face, yet she and Sanzo were still stuck.

"I think I see a way out for you guys." Gojyo stated, spinning his shakujo before inserting the butt end into the craggy rock on side of the stuck couple. "Goku you get the other side. Now when Hakkai pulls, we push. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah." Goku muttered, imitating Gojyo's act and placing his staff into the rock. "It's going to be okay. We'll get you out of there real soon."

"Thanks, you're sweet."

The comment had Goku grinning ear from ear, yet he didn't blush, and she thought that was cute of him.

"Ready? One…two…three!" they pulled, they pushed, and finally Sanzo was free, and with his arms still around Kagome, he managed to pull her free along with him.

"Oh thank, you. All of you." Kagome told them as she examined the large cut the rock had caused in her side.

"Hey, you're bleeding! Are you alright? Do you need to lie down?"

"No, it's just a scratch. Thanks for the concern though, um, you."

"Goku!" Goku said enthusiastically. "I'm Goku."

"Kagome." she offered with a smile, reaching out to shake his hand.

After Goku's vigorous handshake, she then turned to the others. The monk didn't offer his name nor a handshake, he was too busy lighting a cigarette and so his name was given to her by Goku.

"This is Hakkai!" Goku continued, deciding to make the introductions himself. Hakkai did shake her hand, clasping her hand with one of his and embracing her wrist with the other.

"And that's Gojyo!" Goku said, but his voice was less enthusiastic this time around.

"Nice to meet you all," she smiled, shaking Gojyo's hand. "…and again thank you for saving me…for the _second_ time."

"So…you going to tell us what that was all about?" Gojyo asked, voicing what they all were thinking.

"Well," Kagome began. "…when people first meet it is customary to shake hands and give…."

"Not that! Why are demons so intent on capturing you?"

Kagome looked at them from the corner of her eyes. "You mean you don't know?" She asked, skepticism evident in her voice. _'What kind of demons are they? Can't sense the shikon, must be stupid in the senses.'_

"Know what? Goku asked.

"My flesh is magically delicious."

"What?" they all asked, either they voiced it or their faces said it, but they said it.

"All the demons I come across think that I taste like every conceivable flavor imagined. And that eating me will give them a kick to the taste buds. And so…that's why they're after me."

"Surely you must be joking." Hakkai said after a moment's pause.

"Then why else would they be after me? Here." she said brandishing her arm. "Want a lick?"

"No thanks." Hakkai declined.

"Yeah, I am a bit dirty." Kagome realized, looking down at her torn and filthy self.

"Right." Goku began, trying to get off the topic of Kagome's supposedly chicken tasting skin. "So is your village somewhere close by?"

"Are you kidding? I'm been stuck in this forest for two weeks." Kagome laughed.

"Really?" Goku asked, sounding excited. "We're heading out of here ourselves, you want a lift?"

Kagome stopped laughing and quirked her head as she smiled curiously at him then at his companions. "Thanks, but no thanks." she answered after a while, watching what seemingly looked like the life deflate from Goku's demeanor.

"Why?"

"Because…"she said, smiling softly at him before she began to walk off. "I have some things to tend to, whose to say you want flip out on me and actually be psychos, and you know, it's not safe for a female to be alone with strange men these days. Besides, I don't think your father likes me very much. Looks like he'll shoot me first chance he gets."

She didn't turn around, but she did have the pleasure of hearing someone choke in anger.

"Hey," she heard from behind her. When she didn't answer, she heard feet running to her, and when the hand grabbed her arm and spun her around, she thought she would find herself looking at Goku. But instead, she had to look up at the redheaded Gojyo. When she met his eyes he seemed to flinch back, releasing his hold on her arm immediately. She smiled cruely at him, knowing what he had seen.

"You can't go off by yourself." he said, his voice holding none of the hesitation he had demonstrated a second later.

"Yeah I can. I've been at it for a while. I know how to handle myself."

"Where are you going?" Goku asked, suddenly there and standing in between her and Gojyo. "The road leads out of the forest, going the other way."

"Yeah, I know, but I'm a bit filthy, as you can tell, and I remember passing up a creak a few yards back."

"You're going to _bath_?" Goku asked, his voice and face showing his bewilderment.

"Yeah." she laughed. "Which is another reason I can't travel with you. Sometimes, I get the tendency to strip naked and pour soap and water all over my body to remove debris and filth from my ever flavor skin."

The boys were speechless, and laughing aloud to herself, that's the way she left them.

Kagome sighed longingly as she bathed herself later that evening.

The stream was cold, but she hardly noticed, she was too busy not looking at her reflection and thinking about the young men she had departed hours ago.

With them she saw an end to her loneliness, but she also saw that they would add to her madness. When it came time to leave, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to keep herself from repeating old mistakes. She hated being alone, but she also hated encountering Death. But by avoiding them, she knew Death was pleased with her, and she hated to do anything that would please the dead man.

Decisions.

She hated to admit it, but with her sanity back, _somewhat_, she realized she'd be better off avoiding the company of others. She'd just be putting them in danger. Danger from her friends and herself. Even now, she regretted leaving behind Naruto, and her lonesomeness was so severe, she missed the time she spent together with Alucard. Even if it was just for his amusement and torment of others. Unhealthy thoughts, but at least she wouldn't have been alone.

A shooting star fell across the sky, and stopping in the middle of scrubbing her hair, Kagome looked up at it. Mesmerized, Kagome watched it fall in the distance and explode somewhere far off in the nebula.

Kagome was silent a moment before springing to her feet in anger. "Did I just miss my chance to make a freaking wish?"

Her answer was the empty silence of the forest.

"Damn it!" Kagome yelled angrily, cursing the amount of insanity that remained, for making her slow to respond.

Unbeknownst to the cursing and screaming Kagome, the star she seen hadn't been a star at all, nor was it a fiery mass of rock from space, _meteor_, it had infact been an arrival. Someone was there…and they were looking for her.


	9. Chp 8

**Poll in Profile:** Which fic would you like re-written, but not dramatically changed?

**Chap. 8 Wild**

* * *

With the topic of the strange woman to talk about, the Sanzo party still found themselves awake and alert four days after their last encounter.

Never mind they were gossiping like little girls, at least they weren't running things over for the hell of it anymore.

"She was lying, of course. I just can't figure out any other reason for demons to be after her." Hakkai was saying, as they traveled down the isolated forest road.

"Maybe she really does has every flavor skin." Gojyo added jokingly. "Sanzo, you should have checked while you two were making out in the rock."

"She probably did something to aggravate them." Sanzo said, ignoring Gojyo's comment.

"There was definitely something wrong with her." Hakkai told them, his voice serious. "She seemed quite unconcerned about what she would say and she was unusually calm and accepting about her pursuers."

"So what are you trying to say, Hakkai?" Gojyo asked, knowing what the man was implying, but wanted to hear him say it aloud.

"She was out of her mind." Sanzo clarified abruptly.

"Will you stop talking about her like that?" Goku suddenly snapped, coming out of his sulky mood long enough to berate his companions. Ever since leaving

Kagome's company, the littlest companion had been sulky and moody with worry.

"Ah, cheer up, monkey. I know how much you _thought _you liked her, but it wasn't the real thing. You'll get over it." Gojyo said sympathetically, patting Goku on the head.

"Get over what?" Goku asked with annoyed confusion. " I wasn't pretending, I liked her just fine, she seemed cool."

"No, I mean it was just a little case of intense crushing."

Goku got even more confused and just a little angry. "What are you talking about? No one got crushed."

"Are you serious?" Gojyo asked aloud, talking more to himself than to Goku. "Hey, dad," he called out, picking at Kagome's reference to Sanzo, "I think it's time you and the monkey had a talk about the birds and the bees." His reply came in the form of a large cloud of smoke issued from Sanzo's nose and mouth.

"What do animals have to do with it?" Goku snapped at him crossly.

"Listen to me." Gojyo began, taking Goku firmly by the shoulders and looking him squarely in the eye. "You were _really _fond of her. You liked her, _a lot_. Do you get me? You _liked _her."

Goku stared at him vacantly.

"Did any of that get through?"

"I don't know." Goku finally answered, a little warily. "I think I….no."

Sighing, Gojyo pulled Goku close and whispered into his ear. When he was done, he let Goku go and looked at him expectantly.

The whole forest seemed to hush in anticipation of Goku's response, and if not the whole forest then most definitely the two men in the front seat of the jeep.

Gojyo stared at Goku with hope that the monkey wasn't that slow, while Goku stared at nothing as his brain tried to process the information Gojyo had given him….and then…

Goku's eyes widened in comprehension. "Oh." He drawled out as he finally caught the meaning to Gojyo's words. And then….

He frowned. "Oh?" He drawled questioningly, wondering if the meaning actually applied to him. And then…

His eyes darkened. "Oh." He drawled for some unknown reason, with his voice uncharacteristically deep as he faced forward with a small predatory smile. He offered no more after that.

"Well that was a little creepy." Gojyo muttered through a cigarette as he too faced the front and promptly dropped the unlit tobacco from his lips as he stared in surprise.

"Chicks, hard core." He mumbled aloud as Hakkai pulled over to the side of the road, where a very nonchalant looking Kagome reclined on a boulder, with a dead demon at her feet.

On closer look at the demon, they saw that it was missing an eye, both it's hands, half of one of it's horns, it's legs were broken, and that it was infact alive. They saw from the bloody trail leading from the woods, that it had been dragged to this spot. Kagome, they saw, suffered no injuries, except a fading bruise on her cheek, and severely torn and bloody clothes.

"Hi, boys." She greeted nonchalantly, propping herself up on her elbows.

"Hi, yourself." Gojyo said, giving her a weak salute. "What's uh…what'cha doing?"

"Taking a rest." she replied airily.

"Why?" Goku asked, dragging the word out.

"Because," she smiled, "While I was bathing the other day, someone, I want be saying who, decided to attack me. Like I told you, I can take care of myself, but…" and here she paused as she raised her foot into the air enticingly. "…he ate my boot."

"Kill…me." came the sad, gurgling, blood spewing voice of the demon on the ground.

"Did anyone say you could speak!" Kagome yelled viciously, making the boys in the jeep jump in surprise, as she bounded to her feet and began to kick the demon into oblivion. "No? I didn't think so! Now I have to rest, because I've been dragging his sorry ass through this damn forest! Because I'm _getting_ my boot back! And someone's either going to shove a nub down their throat and cough it up, or else we're going to the nearest town and get force fed laxatives and prunes! And when I get it back, someone's going to clean and polish it until it looks like new! Whore bag! And to top it off, I haven't slept in ten days and I've been blacking out! I have no idea what happened to his hands, but I took that eye, I remember that!" Ending her tirade, Kagome continued to stomp the living hell out the silently crying demon with her remaining boot.

Her final kick, ended with a yawn. "And so here I am." she said finally as she sat back down on the boulder. "Taking a rest."

"I don't think you're going to get that boot back." Hakkai offered sympathetically after a minute's pause.

"Yes I am." Kagome shot back defiantly.

Hakkai tried to hide his smile. "No, I simply mean that the demon's digestive system leaves you with no boot to salvage."

"Fine." she breathed in resignation as she turned to glare at the demon. "Guess I'll have to make some new ones. You got a knife?"

"How about a ride instead?" Goku asked eagerly, climbing over Gojyo to look at her.

Standing up, Kagome stretched as she considered the offer. She was tired of being alone, yet everyone was better off if she stayed away. She didn't feel sane enough to be around people, she would be endangering everyone further with all the demons after her, Death would be mad, and she couldn't take time out for herself when Sanzo was still out there. Yet, this was the third time she had ran across the guys, and the third time was always the charm. Or so they said.

"I don't know boys," Kagome said aloud, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. "I could use a ride to the nearest town, but…it's not up to me." leaving it at that, Kagome smiled sweetly at Sanzo, who only glanced at her briefly and exhaled a large puff of smoke.

"Get in or stay here." he finally told her, his voice sounding apathetic as he waved a dismissive hand her way, in the back seat Goku was going ballistic with excitement and missed the kiss Kagome had planted on Sanzo's cheek, much to his shock and irritation, before hopping into the back seat with him.

If she did nothing else while with the boys, she was going to enjoy annoying the blond headed priest. And as they drove off, Kagome let off a small laugh as she tossed her remaining boot over her head and hit the soon-to-be-dead demon in the road.

* * *

Kagome was excited, but considering everyone else, she couldn't help but be.

She didn't understand what the wolves were so excited about. They had been hyper and in high spirits since the day before, running here and there, barking and howling at random moments, and being just a bit overexcited when it came to fighting. Kouga was no exception, she hadn't seen him in such a good mood since she decided to mate with him. He had been so good natured that she had to only smooth over three fights he had started with the neighboring lords. He lead the pack on all the excursions, something not unheard of, but strange for him to do continuously. Besides being manically aggressive, Kouga was also being pretty frisky. He's swoop into the den, randomly and without warning, pick her up and swing her around, lavish kisses over her body, feel her up, or simply toss her into the air.

Though she had stayed inside the den all day, she was still exhausted when night came. Since coming to stay with the wolves, she had always been busy and they regularly kept her on her toes, but today they had almost become insufferable. So when the chance came for her to take a nap, she had been unconscious before she hit the mat.

The nap didn't last long. It seemed she had just fallen asleep when someone took a flying leap at her prone figure. She hadn't been surprised to find that that someone had been her child-like mate, come to wake her up for the event they had neglected to tell her about.

Caught up in their excitement again, Kagome forgot her fatigue and outside the den, where they were all gathered, she found herself giddy and fidgeting with them, eager for…whatever the hell the were eager for.

Besides her, Kouga was practically hopping on the balls of his feet, waiting, for what, she wasn't sure. Until, she noticed how well lit and captivating everything looked. She looked up….and then everything clicked into place.

BIG, BLUE, MOON.

'_Why hadn't I noticed that until now_?' She reprimanded herself.

By the time Kouga put his hand on her shoulder to get her attention, the pack had begun to run off. She caught sight of the first batch just before they disappeared into the woods.

She found herself smiling in excitement, and by the time Kouga had positioned himself for her to climb upon his back, she was already halfway down the mountain, running amidst her packmates, humanoid and animalistic demons alike.

With Kouga's stamina backing her up, Kagome could keep up with the best of them, and as she ran along side them, she felt a kinship to them as she had never felt before. While before, they had accepted the fact that she was their alpha and respected her power, she had never been part of the pack, had never been accepted her into their society. But now, she felt love, respect for _her_, she felt a hole being filled she had never known had been there. They were pleased with her.

They weren't the only ones thrilled with her. Kouga, keeping pace at her side, suddenly pulled her to him as he smothered her mouth with his own. She felt herself melt against him, against his kiss. Kouga's kisses were never romantic or tender, he was too much of a wolf for that, but they were passionate and heated, always sending shivers down her warming body and down into her groin. He ended his fiery kiss with a growl and with his arm tight around her waist, he let out a fierce howl.

The howl reverberated in her chest, loud and clear, full of dominance, and it sent the pack barking and yipping in response.

Having the urge, but not the ability, to howl along with him, Kagome contented herself by running faster, harder, leaping over the demons that had no human forms, racing the wolves, and just being part of the pack. They had a long arduous run, and soon Kagome's body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. She was glad she had retired her old clothing for the fur Kouga's tribe was accustomed to. It covered nothing but the essentials, but now she knew why they wore it. It was too damn hot to wear more.

Finally their run seemed to be coming to an end, she could see the wolves up ahead coming to a stop and start walking. And when her group started walking, she heard and saw their destination. A hideaway between the forest and the mountain range running along side it. A secret paradise for the wolves, with an irregular growth of the nearby river running along the side, giving the straggly, yet beautiful foliage life throughout the hideaway. Overhead the stars shown brightly, making the rock face of the mountain shine and sparkle in it's own natural light. The burrow was a beautiful freak of nature, and the wolves had a raging bonfire party right in the middle of it.

The wolves were everywhere and doing everything. Some were playing instruments, others were dancing, off to the side many boys, on the verge of manhood, were fighting and establishing dominance amongst each other, some had decided to play in the stream, and running every which way and how were the pups and man-cubs of the pack. She saw, sitting with their back against the mountain and wrapped in furs, the Ol' Mas. The Ol' Mas were the oldest women of the pack, on the verge of losing their humanity for their primal instincts. Old women who were more wolf than anything else. Old women who had outlived their mates, which Kagome didn't think was a coincidence, and on the threshold of joining them. She liked the Ol' Mas, they were drunk, rude, and gregarious.

While she had been looking around, Kouga had come up from behind, wrapped his powerful arms around her and kissed her neck. "Enjoy yourself." he growled into her throat.

"I planned on it." She replied, tilting her head up for a real kiss. Smiling wolfishly, he complied with her silent wish and gave her the eager/possessive/obsessive kiss she had grown accustomed too, before bounding off to join the festivities himself. She had no doubt he was heading towards the boys, intent on showing them what real dominance was.

Kagome wasn't surprised to find herself sitting with the Ol' Mas, a short time after arriving. They were always fun to be around.

The Ol's Mas were the oldest members of the pack, but they didn't stay in the den with the others. They stayed by themselves on the other side of the mountain, and came over only for important occasions. At first Kagome thought it was because of their deformities, with their part human, part wolf looks, but after spending time with them, she had come to realize they stayed away because they were old and deserved some peace and quiet. Which is what they told her. But every time Kagome would come to visit them, they were as noisy as the entire den.

"Here you go, little girl, have a cup of tea." Prisca said in her gravely voice as she handed Kagome a cup, her hands no more than paws with opposable thumbs.

Kagome took the cup with a wry smile. She knew first hand that it wasn't tea that was in that cup. It burned your throat when you drank it, it's smell was stronger than ammonia, and she was pretty sure the Ol' Mas made it themselves. It was Moonshine.

"So," Anti asked, looking to the world like a human with fur, ignoring Kagome's choking on the strong liquor, "When are you and the Prince going to give me great granpups?"

The liquid went down the wrong pipe and Kagome felt it go up the back of her head before plummeting into her lungs. Needless to say she began coughing uncontrollably as tears leaked from her eyes. The drink was just too strong…and, she didn't want to have this conversation with the Ol' Mas. Again.

Kagome was saved the telling off she was about to dispense, by Veta, Prisca's sister and only demon amongst the Ol' Mas to have her muzzle fully pronounced, slapping Anti on the shoulder.

"Shut your mouth, you old mutt, I'm his grand dame, not you." Veta snarled, her words, guttural and raspy, as her vocals made their way from human speech to animal.

"You sure?" Anti asked skeptically, casting confused yellowed eyes in Kouga's direction.

"Damn mutt." Veta muttered, pulling her shawl tighter around her furred body as she pushed Anti to the ground and took her place by Kagome. "You know, he looks just like his grandsire."

"Does he act like him too?" Kagome asked, who was used to the Ol' Mas's train of thought and knew who she meant, her voice scratchy from the moonshine.

"Not a damn bit!" Veta snapped, the sound sounding more like a bark. "My mate was a force to be reckoned with. He ruled the woods with a iron fist, not a squirrel was killed without his know. He was so great, the Lords of the Lands would fight over him during times of war for his battle tactics. That pup of yours is no, Cerberus."

"Or so you say." Kagome muttered from her cup as she took another sip. "I'll ask again. Does Kouga act like him?"

Veta scowled at Kagome briefly before refilling her cup with a small snort. "Your boy does good. Just as thickheaded, violent, and reckless as his grandsire."

"I bet he feels proud."

"Proud?" Veta asked loudly, taking a swig of her drink. She then proceeded to curse and berate her mate through growls and snarls that erupted from her wolfish throat.

Kagome grinned as she looked at the Ol' Mas. Anti was looking around confused, wondering just who the hell she had given birth too, Veta who had stopped cursing her mate and was now yelling at the younger wolves, reminding them that it was better in the old days and that she could beat them all in her sleep, and finally to Prisca, who was demanding the attention of a young man who would rather be anywhere else than being felt up by an old lady, despite that Prisca was the youngest and best looking of the Ol's Mas. She was also probably his grand dame.

"Prisca." Kagome called out, saving the poor wolf from being depants.

"What?" Prisca snapped, angry that her prey had escaped.

"Where's Alde?" Kagome asked, not quelled by Prisca's show of teeth.

"She's made the transition." Anti answered.

"She's come full circle." Veta added.

"She's begun her last journey before returning home, to mother moon." Prisca finished sagely.

"Hmm." Kagome hummed, before taking another sip, her mood sobering with the turn of events. She knew what all those vague sayings really meant. Alde, one of the eldest, had fully wolfed. That's what she called the changeover wolf demons went through when they got so old they lost their humanity to their primitive nature. When the wolf within them ate it's way out and took over the mind. The Ol' Mas were close to that stage themselves, and that's the reason Kagome really thought they lived apart from the rest of the pack. They each had lost their mates, to the transition, and had prematurely accepted Kagome amongst them. For one day, Kouga too would lose himself to his inner beast, and that thought was enough to null the moonshine in her system.

"Don't worry, by mating with him, it doesn't prolong your life as long as his, you'll die way before he flips." Anti was saying, in her way of comforting Kagome.

"No!" Prisca argued. "She's a miko, it's different for her. She'll last long enough to see his furry ass run off into the woods and never come back."

"She's right." Veta agreed. "If I were you, I'd find a fountain of youth and keep dunking him in so that he'll outlive you, or dive in yourself, so that when he hightails it like the rest of them, you'll still be fresh and young and waiting to take another to your den."

"You three are so encouraging." Kagome scowled at them as she set her cup down.

"We don't blame you or wanting to keep him." Prisca said after a moment, staring off at Kouga, who was playing with the young ones by the fire. "He's a fine boy."

"Um, yeah, see I'm going to have to disagree with you on that." Kagome said, making the Ol' Mas stare at her. "He's no boy, and I should know."

The Ol' Mas were silent as they stared at Kagome with wide eyes. And then, they burst into laughter.

Kagome smiled to herself before taking another sip of her drink. She paid no attention to them anymore, all eyes were upon Kouga, her mate, her lover. Now sitting an empty cup down, Kagome got up and stalked towards the fire and the unsuspecting Wolf Prince.

Upon seeing her leave, the Ol' Mas riotous laughter diminished and they took long sips from their cups.

"What really happened to, Alde?" Veta asked.

Prisca and Anti exchanged glances. "We were bored." Anti began with a shrug.

"So we slit her throat and watched her roll down the mountain side." Prisca added.

"Oh," Veta accepted, turning her eyes to the figure of Kagome. "She's a good girl." she said after a moment's silence, in which the others agreed fully.

Kouga, who was rolling around on the ground with all the pack's pups on his back, didn't sense Kagome approaching.

Feeling frisky, Kagome got down on all fours and crept closer and closer, waiting for the perfect opportunity to…there…in a fit of barks and giggles, the children had ran away, leaving Kouga unprotected for the sneak attack.

She gave him no warning except a playful growl before she was upon him. They went rolling and tumbling across the ground, with Kagome giving it her all to get her man pinned down. In the end, it was she who ended up on her back. Hell, she wasn't surprised.

She wasn't complaining either. Not when he looked down at her like that. Like he wanted to devour her soul. Like they were the only beings left in the world. Like he wanted to bite her. Like she was his everything. Like a fat kid loves cake. Like he wanted to ravish her body every which way til Sunday. Like he loved her.

"If you're going to take advantage of me, I suggest getting a move on it." she told him huskily, and as he quirked his lips into a smile, showing fangs, he conquered her mouth, and would have conquered more than that if it weren't for the cubs and pups returning with reinforcement.

The mood was ruined, but Kagome didn't regret it. She was having just as much fun playing with the little ones as she would have had playing with Kouga…sort of.

Seeing Kouga at play, she had no worries that he would be a great father. She just had to wonder how many kids they were going to have. And she was sure it was kids…plural…with that wolf's stamina, she was sure that 'kids' was the grammatically correct term. And if they were anything like the ones attacking her ankles and dragging her to the ground now, then she would have her hands full.

Soon, the ruckus around the hideaway began to settle down as the food was brought out. Sending the pups back to their mothers, Kouga lead Kagome over to their place in the circle the wolves had formed. There was no order to the seating, but a few remained unseated to set out the food, and others, strong males, stood off into the woods, guarding and protecting as they had been doing the entire night.

As she and Kouga sat and watched the food being handed out, Kagome began feeling a but uneasy. Although the food was a variety of meat, fruit, nuts, and the occasional vegetable that was mistaken for fruit, it mostly consisted of meat. Lots of meat. Lots of warm, raw, uncooked, bloody meat. She swallowed.

"You don't have to eat it." Kouga whispered to her, as he, as was custom, began placing food in front of her. "Just eat the fruit, because as their alphas, they won't eat until we do."

Kagome glanced briefly at him before casting an eye around at the pack and found their hungry eyes on them. "During the meal, I'll swipe the meat off your mat for you." Kouga was saying, but she ignored him.

Not attempting to put up a front, yet not showing distaste, Kagome reached for a large piece of meat on her plate, and without hesitation, pulled a large plug out with her teeth. She gagged, but chewed it defiantly. Tough, chewy, juicy, it was really blood but she fooled herself into thinking juicy, but she got through the first bite and swallowed it without puking.

It wasn't until she was finished that the silence hit her. They were still staring at her, shocked, and Kouga was now among them.

"Well," she said looking at him honestly, "don't keep them waiting. Eat." she told him before taking another bite.

The yapping and barking she heard to follow was full of approval, appreciation and love, which Kouga also showed by kissing her on the cheek before diving into the carnage that was their meal.

Now with the attention redirected from her, Kagome eased up on the raw food and tried to ease her stomach and mind. Munching on a piece of fruit for a while, she had to admit, raw meat wasn't that bad. She had only to hope that it wouldn't make her sick.

It wasn't long until Kagome was full to the point of bursting. She might have the wolves strength, and their speed, and sometimes their temper, but she couldn't hang when it came to their appetites.

"What's the matter? Feeling sick?" Kouga turned to ask her, his mouth full of food and covered in blood.

"I am now, you animal." She told him with a grimace as she wiped the spewed meat from her face, but she nudged him good naturedly to show her affection.

Getting up from the massacre around her, Kagome drank and washed up at the stream. After, she busied herself with small tasks around the clearing. She brought a jug of water to the Ol' Mas, giving them something besides liquor to drink. But as she dropped it off, they only laughed and scoffed at her. She then brought food over to the sentries. Either handing it over to them or dropping it at their feet if they had no human forms. They neither acknowledged or thanked her, but she felt gratitude when next she looked at them and saw the food gone.

While she had been busy helping out, the rest of the pack had been becoming lethargic with full bellies, as the last of the food finally disappeared. She saw them all happily sitting or lying down, patting their bellies and licking their faces and fingers clean. It was quiet now, even the pups were silent. They seemed to be waiting for something, and if she listened to herself, she found herself waiting also. For what, she didn't know, but she knew it wasn't for Kouga to start stripping.

He stood in the middle of the clearing, and it was the sound of his armor hitting the ground that had drawn her attention to him. He had had his face turned up to the night sky while he had been taking off the furs, but he seemed to sense her watching and turned to grin at her.

She grinned back, the man was a sight to behold, and he was hers. He winked at her and jumped into the air. The tornado formed as usual, but he didn't go anywhere, he stayed right where he had jumped, giving them all a bad hair-do. The growls that issued from it were fierce and getting louder by the second. And when the tornado dissipated, and she saw the monster within, she wasn't surprised.

The wolf was massive, so big that she could sit in its mouth comfortably, just one of its teeth was as long as her arm and as thick as her thighs. Its fur was the same color as Kouga's hair, and it stared at her with Kouga's eyes.

"Hello, handsome." she growled enticingly moving forward to run her hand along his snout. But as she ran her hand to touch him, he attacked.

It was evidence of her toughness that she didn't scream. Instead she growled and beat at his nose when the great beast clamped its jaws around her middle. "Son of a bitch, Kouga! This isn't funny." she yelled, more in annoyance at being eaten than anger, as the great wolf shook it's massive head. It wasn't until she was air borne, that everything came into place.

She landed on his back with an _oomph_ and laid there, half buried in his thick fur, and tried to regain her composure. "You could have just told me." came her muffled protest after a minutes pause.

Wolves can't giggle, but they can chortle.

The only warning she got was a wolfish head turning to glance at her briefly before her steed let out a mighty howl. The sound blocked out all other noises, it filled her head. She felt the vibrations of the howl, reverberate from where she straddled his back to the tips of the hair on her head. It chilled her to the bone yet it thrilled her soul. The sheer baritone of it. It seemed to shake her very being…and she couldn't help the howl that escaped her. Following her example, the pack let their voices be heard, but none were as long, hard, and loud as that of there prince. When she could howl no more, she fiercely hugged the wolf's neck while she regained her breath.

They were off, the forest nothing but a blur to her eyes, as she rode upon her lover's back. For the benefit of the pack, for once, Kouga kept his pace at a haste, but standard rate. They ran throughout the forest, heading for who knows where, and howled their hearts out. They didn't stop until they had the forest to their back and the open land in their face. On some unknown signal, the pack halted in their tracks while Kouga, with Kagome still latched onto his back, ran and leaped into the air, his commanding howl echoing from the depths of his soul, and when he landed, the howl came from the throat of a man, of a sorts, with his woman held captive in his arms. Kouga stood upon a rise, the largest hill amongst the curving terrain. In the silence that followed his howl, others rose, and non were of the pack.

"Tonight." Kouga yelled, leaving Kagome side to confront his pack. "There are no territories! Tonight you have no pack! Tonight you have no enemies! Tonight, there is only the moon, AND THE RUN!" The wolves howled in enthusiasm, Kouga's howl somehow even louder than before, and then they ran.

Kagome had never seen her wolves so happy. There was nothing but pure joy on their faces as they ran off into the night. Howling and jumping and yipping.

Grinning widely, Kagome made to follow, but an angry growl had her halting in her tracks. She knew from where the growl came, but she didn't know why. She held still until all the wolves had run off, leaving her alone with the beast.

"You got something to say, because I have some aimless running to do." turning to argue, Kagome found herself looking at the Devil himself, and he couldn't look hotter.

He was naked, she had forgotten about that when they had been running. But now she was reminded of the fact full force. She had never seen him look as glorious as he did now. He seemed to radiate sex, power, and hunger.

His eyes were wild, his muscles were bulging, his fangs had enlarged, his claws were protruding, a slight wind was blowing his ruffled hair, which was loose and cascading around him like an ominous cape. He looked as if the wolf he had become was still in charge of the man's body, his body shone in the moonlight, and she could clearly see the evidence of his want for her. He was a ravaging monster, and she was his prey.

Moon rage.

The smart thing to do would be to break eye contact and expose her neck. It would be a show of submission, and possibly calm Kouga's boiling blood. But she wasn't feeling very submissive.

"Oh, no, whatever should I do? Who shall save me from this monster?" While her act had been poor in quality, she completely ruined it by giggling.

Growling at the snarl on Kouga's face, Kagome turned and fled. She didn't get very far, before a shadow covered her briefly and a man beast fell from the sky before her. She mocked shrieked, and he really growled as he grabbed her by the arms and tossed her to the ground.

"Oh, no, I'm going to be savagely ravished." Kagome gushed as she suddenly found Kouga upon her, his hair falling down on her like a black waterfall. She caressed him and played with his ebony tresses.

"Well go on." she told.

And he did.

* * *

Kagome woke the next morning in Kouga's arm, and her hand tangled in his hair. Last night had been the best night she'd ever had. She couldn't wait for the next full moon.

She sensed Kouga was awake, and knew that he knew that she was awake too. Smiling, she snuggled closer into him, and wrapped her leg tighter around his waist, while running her hands through his hair. Her other hand was on his chest and was slowly venturing down to see if he was ready for a quick morning run without actually running.

"Morning." she mumbled, leaning up to kiss him.

"Uh…yeah, you might want to wake up."

Kagome froze. That sure in hell didn't sound like Kouga. And now that she thought about it, the hair was far too well kept to be her wolf's mane. Neither did the waist feel like the one she usually woke up too. But the strange waistline did feel familiar.

"Damn." she cursed, opening her eyes for the assault she knew was to come.

The sun hurt her eyes, but it had nothing on the pain that went through her heart when she saw the red hair she had been clutching. So when he ventured to look her in the eye, she yawned away the pain.

"Well you just practically got raped didn't you?" Kagome stated rather than asked, as she disengaged from the, highly unembarrassed, hanyou.

Stretching away the last of her dream, Kagome, looked around and saw that not a bit of forest could be seen. They were driving by endless amounts of fields, no civilization in sight, but at least they were out of the forest.

"You're just going to act like that just didn't happen?" Gojyo asked after a pause.

"Sure am." Kagome answered with a smile, not bothering to look his way. But when Gojyo called Goku's name, Kagome turned towards the little monster and saw the tail end of the hauntingly fierce look he had been throwing Gojyo's way, but when she turned he smiled brilliantly at her.

"Did you enjoy your rest?" he asked.

"Apart from waking up and finding myself being molested."

"Hey!"

"I really enjoyed it. How long was I out?"

"All day yesterday and most of today."

"Hmm." Leaning forward in her seat, Kagome rested her head in between Sanzo's and Hakkai's shoulders, and if she rested on Sanzo's just to annoy him, it was just a coincidence.

"How far to the nearest town?"

"Well, on the way out of the forest, we passed a farmer who directed us onto this road. If his directions were correct, we should be arriving in town shortly." Hakkai informed her, flashing a small smile.

"Okay." Leaning back, Kagome reclined in the seat, holding her face up to the sun. She was letting the vibrations of the ride drift her away, until...

"Who's Kouga?

It came from Goku, which is why Kagome felt like answering. Anybody else, she figured, wouldn't have had that privilege.

"…my mate." She told him quietly.

"Your what?" Gojyo asked, the word mate, making him pay attention.

"My mate." she snapped. "My soul mate, my other half, a lover, my life partner, my life companion, my spouse. Take a pick. He was my husband."

"Was?" This came from Hakkai.

She paused. "Yeah. He was killed a while back."

"Is that why you're traveling alone?" Goku asked.

"Yeah." she laughed a little bitterly. "_That's_ the reason." and with the coldness of her voice she shut the conversation down.

* * *

"Well boys, I thank you for the ride. It was much appreciated."

They had finally found the town, a fairly large community nestled in the valley of their mountain overlord. Upon entering, Kagome had waited until they had gotten to the middle of town before asking out.

Climbing over Gojyo, Kagome bounded from the car and was reminded she had on no shoes. Turning to face them she smiled. "Have fun at your convention." She said, shaking Hakkai's hands by leaning over and into Sanzo.

"Convention?" Hakkai asked, curiously.

"Yeah," she answered looking at Sanzo, but when he only inclined his head back, and probably about to blow smoke in her face, she gave up, and went to shake Gojyo's hand. "You guys look like you're heading to a big convention."

"Why's that?" Gojyo asked.

"Don't know, you just do…what?" This question was directed to Goku who, after clambering over Gojyo to shake her hand, was looking nervous, put out, and excited all at once. He looked constipated.

"Nothing." he answered quickly, reaching his hand out to shake hers.

"Oh, and thanks for protecting me so valiantly." she told him, as she curled her fingers around his hand.

"Think nothing of it." he replied, smiling goofily. "It was…"

But his words were cut short as Kagome silenced him with a quick kiss and a hug.

"…my pleasure." he finished, dreamily, and then promptly fell onto the ground. Or pushed, depending on how you looked at Gojyo. "Whoa!"

"Well, _that_ will boost a girl's self-esteem. And I got a twitch, I must be good."

"Evidently." Hakkai agreed, making Kagome smile. "If you don't mind me asking, but where are you going?"

"Firstly, I'm going to buy some clothes." She said, indicating at her shoeless feet and torn and bloody clothes. "then find somewhere to stay, and then I don't know. Get some supplies, go find something fun to do? Why? You want to join me?"

"Maybe later." Hakkai replied pleasantly. "I was merely curious. You are a very interesting individual."

The comment seemed to surprise her, and then she smiled. "Thanks, I think. And you know it's very interesting you said that because…"

"…you have a lot of secrets?" he finished for her, his eyes twinkling with earnest.

Kagome's smile, although never wavering, turned queer. "Good-bye boys." And giving them a curt bow, Kagome turned and walked away.

"Were you flirting?" Sanzo asked after a while, mild disgust evident in his question.


	10. Chp 9

Short Chapter. Either Stronger Than Yesterday or The Protector to be updated next.

* * *

**Chp. 9 Temptation**

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* * *

**

He felt her.

He knew she was there, and so, as of consequence, was he. He had to thank her.

She was the cause of his…situation. She was what made him a being in-between. Neither here nor there. A lost soul.

But it was alright, he'd make it alright, and his first step would be to deal with her.

He took a step over the corpse at his feet, ignoring the demons skirting his perimeter. They had come in hordes after his arrival, but they soon learned he was not a man to be reckoned with.

He didn't have time to deal with them, only if they got in his way did he spare them a thought, and it was only for the second it took to rid himself of their presence. All other times, his thought were mainly on her.

"KAGOME!" He called out…both verbally and mentally. His call like that of a thousand brass bells.

* * *

Kagome jolted to attention.

After parting company from the Sanzo-party, finding a reasonable place to stay and getting a change of clothes, Kagome had headed to the nearest bar in the town, hoping to catch any rumor that might lead her to Sango. She could just call out and sense where Sango was headed, but Sango never called back, and Kagome realized the more she relied on that link, the more her sanity leaked. And after just finding herself smiling, although a small smile, at nothing, she knew she needed to rely on good old fashioned tracking.

Her sleuthing, she liked the word, had so far only confirmed what she had been feeling.

"Kagome?"

Hearing her name again, Kagome looked up from the fried onion she had ordered, and found herself staring at the Sanzo-party.

"What a surprise seeing you here." Goku said, smiling widely. But the way he said, clued Kagome in that they had either seen her earlier and had thought about what they were going to say, or that they had been looking for her.

"Do you mind if we join you?" Hakkai asked.

Kagome thought it over. She really shouldn't, but they had sought her out themselves. It wasn't on her if she…

"Have a seat," she told them, indicating the empty spots in her booth as she sat up to give them room. Hakkai sat across from her, followed by an annoyed Sanzo, and Goku and Gojyo sat beside her.

Kagome took a chug of her beer to hide her smile as the waitress stopped and took the boys' orders. When she left, she left behind an awkward silence.

"You boys got something on your minds?"

After a few exchanged glances, Hakkai finally looked her in the eye. "I'm afraid it's been driving us crazy. We just can't figure why those demons were after you?"

"I told you." She said, reclining in her seat while she smiled coyly at him. "I taste del…"

"…any logical reasons." Hakkai finished.

She smiled.

"You see." Gojyo blurted out, pointing a finger accusingly at her. "That look right there tells us there's a reason."

She laughed. "What do you think? What are your ideas about my popularity with demons?"

"You stole something?" Gojyo suggested.

"Nope. I have nothing on me, these aren't even my clothes."

"They were holding you hostage and you escaped." Goku said.

"I have no one to pay my ransom."

"You're…_special _and…" Hakkai began.

"We're all special." Kagome interrupted, downing her mug of beer and starting on the other.

"And you can either make something they want or you are something they want." Hakkai finished.

"Bingo!" Kagome said, pointing a finger at him victoriously.

"Really?" Goku asked wonderingly.

"Sure." Kagome answered with a shrug.

"Sure?" Gojyo said skeptically. "So is it or isn't it?"

"Yeah, you know, it's just…whatever?" she mumbled into her beer.

"Quit fooling around." Sanzo snapped. "Are you going to tell us or not?"

Kagome contemplated the question.

"It's alright Pops, I think I'll hold off."

"Oh, come on, it's driving us crazy. Tell us." Goku pleaded, smiling up at her.

Kagome didn't look at him, nor did she smile…much. "Now don't you try to trick me with your cuteness."

"You think I'm cute?"

"Why can't you tell us?" Gojyo asked her laughingly.

"Because I hardly knew, ye."

"What?" Was what Hakkai asked, amused by her choice of words.

"I don't know you people. You all smell like nice guys, but why should I tell my story when we shall part by morning? That would be very rude."

"We _smell _like good guys?: Gojyo asked her with a look.

"You've been sniffing us?" Sanzo inquired instead.

"How could you come to such a conclusion?" Hakkai asked her.

Setting her mug down, Kagome leaned in close to him. "I can smell your souls."

"Can you, now?" Hakkai asked, intrigue written on his face as he sat back. "Care to elaborate?"

"Not really, but I'll tell you this; I'm able to smell if a person is relatively good or not and it gives me a slight indication of their character and personality."

"Hmm, so, what does, a good guy smell like?" Gojyo asked before Hakkai could open his mouth.

"Well, good guys smell warm and broad."

"Warm and broad?" Sanzo commented skeptically.

"Yeah, Warm and broad. You know how your nose feels when it's cold and you put your hand over it to warm it. That's what good guys smell like. While bad guys smell sharp and cold. Almost metallic-like. And then, everyone's soul also has their own unique smell. Depending on the species, personality, and mind."

"Really, so what do I smell like?" Goku asked, sitting up straighter so she could analyze him.

"I'm not going to say, but" she added after seeing him deflate slightly. "I'll tell you what I picked up about you from your soul. Lot of people don't care to have the business on their soul spoken aloud."

Out of the corner of her eyes, Kagome saw the other nod or let out noises of agreement, she didn't comment. "Okay, now let me see." Kagome began as she turned to face Goku and made a show of inhaling. "You are very rambunctious."

Sanzo snorted.

"…and you like to eat. You don't like being alone, you're always hungry, you're very happy and mischievous, and you're a…._powerful _being."

"Me next." Gojyo volunteered, while Goku preened at being called powerful. That's male ego for you.

"You…you are a hanyou who enjoys a good smoke, drink, and sex. You smell like sex and candy."

"Okay, I can accept that."

"And you." Kagome continued, rounding on Sanzo who paused mid smoke to glance at her. "Everything annoys you and you have little to no patience."

"I could have told you that." he told her with a dismissal of his hand.

"Now I'm curious. What can you tell about me?" Hakkai asked.

"You're a pitchfork hidden in a haystack."

"You are good."

"What the heck does that mean?" Goku asked after a pause.

"That he's a pitchfork in a haystack." Kagome answered simply.

"That's it?" Gojyo prompted.

"He gets it." Kagome countered, pointing at the smiling Hakkai.

"He's just being polite."

"Oh, no, I understand her metaphor, quite well." Hakkai told them.

"See?" Kagome said with a victorious smile.

"Whatever. So is that why demons are after you?"

"Why? So I can perform this trick at dinner parties?"

"So if this isn't the reason they're after you, then why?"

"Because it's my business and no one else's."

"_Fine_. Hey!" Gojyo suddenly yelled, getting the attention of the bartender. "Twenty-four shots of 'Loose Goose' over here."

"Twenty-four? Are you going to get me drunk to get it out of me?"

"Oh,." Gojyo started as he looked at them with a questioning glance. "You guys want one too?"

* * *

"Quit moving the _street_!" Kagome growled aloud as she stumbled, tumbled, and moon-walked down the road.

After a long night of drinking with the strangers who kept following her, Kagome had called it a night and realized she was drunk out of her mind. They had offered to walk her to her hotel, but she had declined. She already felt herself getting attached, and she couldn't risk her sanity by staying with them any longer.

So she decided to go back to her room and leave that very night. Too bad someone had other things in mind.

"Where did the hell did I put that hotel?" Kagome asked herself aloud, and then giggled when she realized she had rhymed.

"Here, you can come home with me." A voice spoke up behind her as she felt something grab her arm.

"Ugh! I can't even see you and I know I don't want to." Kagome groaned as she twisted her arm out of his grip. "Let go, jerky!"

"Quit teasing and bring that ass!" Her harasser growled as his grip returned to her arm with a vengeance. "I'm losing my patience."

As Kagome tried to focus on him, she got a start as she found Naraku leering down at her, but she soon dismissed the thought as she realized she was drunk, Naraku was dead and would kill her instead of try to take her home, and going on the fact that the man was split in two and twirling in front of her eyes.

"You're going to lose more than that if you don't stop dancing and let me go!" On the end of her declaration Kagome swung at the man, but seeing as how she was drunk and vision-impaired, all she hit was air.

But he didn't miss.

"Whoa!" Kagome yelped as his fist connected with the side of her head, and her already swarming vision got hazy and she lost her senses.

"I didn't want to have to do this in an alley, but you left me no choice." She heard someone growl, but she couldn't for the life of her remember who sounded like that. Another strike hit her in the face and she felt herself fall, but before she hit the ground something grabbed her and hauled her away before she hit, what felt like plastic and heard what sounded like a trash bin being knocked over. Her soon felt warm as something wet ran down her lips, and she tasted the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

"Oh, God, what's going on?" she slurred as she felt something fussing with the front of her pants, but instead of an answer, all she got was the feel of someone's hand across her cheek. And from the extra stinging she felt, she was sure they had on a ring.

She shook her head, trying to clear away the confusion and haze. She couldn't see anything but shapes, and something big and dark was hovering over her. She tried pushing against him, but she could hardly move her arms. She tried sitting up, but the dark figure roughly pushed her back, making her hit her head on the wall, and causing her vision to spark.

She stayed still and tried to wait for her vertigo to subside. She blinked as she looked up into the night sky and felt a slight strum on her soul as something called out her name. But before she could question it's significance, the hovering figure over her was suddenly jerked off her and out of sight.

She couldn't see him, but she did hear his yelps of pain as something probably ate him alive. "Good." she muttered through a smile as she ignored the pain of her face.

"Lady, Kagome, are you alright?"

"Hm?" Looking to where the voice came from, Kagome choked on her spit.

It was Miroku.

"M-Miroku?"

"Are you alright?" he asked again, more urgently this time as he hustled over to help her up.

"I'm okay." She gushed as he helped her up, never taking her eyes off his face. "I'm just a lot drunk and…" she could hardly get the words out. So instead she hugged him fiercely.

"Come on, let's get out of here." he said soothingly after gently pushing her away and supporting her out of the alley.

"Oh, Miroku," She stammered, as she raised a hand to cup his face. "I just…I didn't…I want you…"

As left the alley and walked onto the street and into the light of the street lamp, Miroku melted away and left Hakkai in his place.

"Oh." she whispered as her mistake hit it's way home and she promptly threw up onto the ground. And probably on Hakkai's shoes too. But like a gentleman, he didn't comment and only rubbed soothing circles onto her back.

When her retching produced nothing but a sore throat and tummy, Kagome stood up straight and wiped her mouth, and found the Sanzo-group surrounding her. All looked pissed off, except Hakkai, who seemed concerned. Maybe that's why she mistook him for Miroku, always the calm one of the group.

She looked up at him and frowned. "I don't know where I put my hotel room." And then she passed out in his arms.

* * *

"How can she sleep through all this?"

Even before awakening; Kagome smiled.

Going on the feel of violent vibrations, the sound of yelling and shooting, the noise of battle, and the cramped position she was in; Kagome deduced that something was going on.

She opened her eyes and viewed the sky as it rapidly sped by.

"Die, Sanzo-party!"

Interesting. Taking a whiff of the air, Kagome smelled upturned dust, burning rubber, and the familiar scents of the guys she had met the other day and some new demons.

"Am I being kidnapped?" she wondered aloud as she un-wedged herself from the floor of the jeep and stood up into the jet stream it created as they sped down an unseen path.

"Get down!" She heard someone yell before a hand was forcefully shoving her low into the seat between Goku and Gojyo.

They said nothing to her as they attacked the demons speeding behind them.

"Look!" One of the demons yelled. "They have the woman!"

The comment sent the demons into an uproar, making the driver speed up until they were almost parallel with them.

"Come here, Chickie, we want hurt you." One of the demons cooed at her, as they made come-hither gestures, before they slowed and got behind their jeep as Sanzo and the rest fired or swung at them.

"Don't worry, Kagome, I won't let them get you."

Kagome didn't comment, didn't even look at Goku when he pronounced his duty to protect her. It was the final straw, she couldn't take any more chances being with them.

She took a look around her. They were speeding down a dirt road that inevitably lead to a desert plain, and in the far distant to the right…she didn't know, but it looked promising.

Turning to look at the demons pursuing her, she smiled, and they jumped at her gaze. She still had it.

Quickly, before they could register what was happening, Kagome stood and leapt from the jeep, and as she sailed free of it, she felt hands catching at her legs and spouts of confusion and concern as she landed on the hood of the demons jeep.

"Hi, boys." She greeted as she grinned widely at their confused faces.

Kicking at the windshield, she successfully broke through on the third try, which wasn't hard to do when the jeep was swerving all over the place, and jumped through to land on the driver.

"We're going for a ride!" She laughingly yelled as she turned forward in the demon's lap, and landing blows to his face with her elbows. The others were stunned into immobility.

As she stepped on the demons foot and floored the gas pedal, she glanced up at the Sanzo-party, and saw them staring at her in shock.

Coyed only for a second, Kagome quickly grinned at them, saluted, and took control of the wheel and forced the jeep to head off to the unknown factor to the right.

By this time, the other demons had regained their composure and were trying to wrestle her from under the wheel. But she persisted, she fought back, and she laughed like their was no tomorrow. Especially when the unknown object came closer and Kagome recognized it for what it really was. A chasm. A colossal, steep, deadly looking chasm. And they were heading straight for a cliff.

The jeep turned completely to the left as the demons fought with her, and they almost hit the Sanzo-party who were, she guessed, trying to stop or save her. But laughing mightily and biting and swatting at the offending hands accosting her, she forced it back towards the cliff edge, and sped on. With a firmer grip on the wheel, Kagome kept them from turning it around, but couldn't stop them from making it wobble violently.

"If you don't stop, this is going to turn ugly." Kagome told her passengers. But they wouldn't listen. And so with the mixture of speed, unsteady wobbling, a hole in the ground, and the shifting of weight in the jeep, Kagome wasn't surprised when it bounced, flipped, tumbled, and finally went careening over the gulf's edge.

'_Now_,' Kagome thought calmly through the howling of the wind and the cries of the demons. '_no more temptations_.'

And just for a moment, she closed her eyes and felt a brief seconds peace…right before they crashed landed and exploded.

Upon the cliff's edge, the Sanzo-party stared down at the carnage, listening to the screams of the demons, who unfortunately didn't die in the crash, as they were burned alive in the wreckage. They stood in shock at what the woman had just done. Killing herself so that they could get away. The mysterious woman. The woman who charmed those around her unintentionally. The woman who made them wonder. And the woman who abated their boredom.

Now what were they going to do to pass the time?


	11. Chp 10

**

* * *

**

Chp. 10 The Run

* * *

She dreamed of him.

And she was happy.

She dreamed they had been running.

She and Kouga.

Kouga and her.

And they were happy.

Running for absolutely no reason. Well…there was a reason. It was a sex game of theirs. Of Kouga's really. She found out the hard way that Kouga could turn any game into a sex game. He was a master at it, she had to admit, there was no other word for someone who could turn jump rope into what he did. He had completely ruined the childhood game for her. She would never look at it the same ever again. He ruined a lot of things. They had a lot of sex games.

Now that she recalled, she thought it would be right to label Kouga as a sex addict…or maybe it was just because it was with her. The thought made her smile in her sleep.

The current game was hopscotch gone wrong.

She ran for her dear maidenly life, or whatever Kouga was pretending she was, as the sounds of a hot-blooded wolf made her giggle and shriek with false terror. That was only before they got serious, or bored with the growling and giggling, and they just ran.

She was ahead, running full out, and he was behind her, though she couldn't see him. But she sensed him, and every now and then she caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye. But she didn't let him catch her. Even though he was faster, she had better agility, and when she put her mind to it, or if they weren't in an open field, she could outrun him for hours. And he loved it, finally having a challenge with an even sweeter prize.

Up craggy rocks, around the trees, over the trees, up the trees, between the trees, she killed when it came to the trees, through bushes and shrubs with prickly thorns, bramble patches. Anything to slow him down. But when the time came that she had no more obstacles to run him through, she used her own acute reflexes to duck and dodge out of his grip. But then, like always, he'd put an end to it all and catch her.

He'd snatch her up into his arms, tackle her to the ground, or merely bypass her and let her run into his suddenly opened arms. And then….

* * *

Slowly Kagome awakened to the sound of male voices. Holding still, she listened intently, she couldn't see them, but they were close. Too damn close.

"If coyotes drug the body off, shouldn't we have started seeing parts by now?"

That was Gojyo, the guy with scarlet hair and the perfect waist.

"Not if they were bringing her home to feed pups." her Miroku impersonator answered in a deadly calm voice.

Smiling to herself, Kagome looked sideways at the coyotes. They were half right. After crashing and burning in the wreckage, Kagome had waited until the Sanzo-party had disappeared from sight before making her escape.

She had ran, trying to put as much distance between her and the guys before collapsing to put out the flames. The fire had been a horrific one, and she had passed out from the pain by the time the coyotes arrived.

They had come, at the smell of cooked flesh, but upon seeing that she still lived and that she smelled of their cousin the wolf, they offered help. It was a well known fact that the two families were feuding, wolves and coyotes. They killed and chased each other away on sight, a constant battle of dominance and territory, but there was always a neutral time. A time for truce.

Times of the full moon, and when coming across the other when injured by outside parties. Wolves and coyotes may hate each other, but they'd be damned if they let other species kill the other.

So upon coming across Kagome, the coyotes had brought her food, raw meat, but hey she was used to it, and slept near her at night to offer protection and warmth. They continued this until she was strong enough to move, and then they had herded her to their den, where she spent the rest of her time. By now she was healed, her skin had grown back, now a mere sunburn, and so had her hair.

Now healthy again, Kagome would have been chased from the premises, or worse, but the first night of the full moon was the next day and tradition called for a truce.

But Kagome didn't spend her time just lazing about the coyotes' den, she made herself useful. Being the only one with opposable thumbs, Kagome did the coyotes a favor and buried their dead. Somehow, a few of the pack members had been bludgeoned to death by pieces of burning jeep. She had no idea how that happened. In return, for burying the dead, the coyotes allowed her to skin them for their fur.

They had been grateful, they'd rather her wear the coats and bury the dead than have them rot out in the open or were scavengers could assault them. With her new fur, Kagome had set and prepared them to merge with what was left of her former clothing.

She had prepared to run with the coyotes for the first night of the full moon, but upon awakening, and hearing the sound of the persistent boys, Kagome realized she was going to have to cut out on the group run, and do a solo. One that never stopped. Not until the men were far behind her.

"The tracks lead here, so where could the den be?" she heard Goku ask as they finally came into sight.

Although their back was to them, and that the hole to the den was small and unnoticeable, Kagome eased back into the darkness.

_'What stupid demons.'_ she thought as she slid to a halt._ 'They don't even know how to use their noses.'_

That might have been the case, but they had good hearing, and they heard the growling of the coyotes as their territory was threatened.

"Stupid coyotes." she muttered darkly as she glared at the raised hackles and snarling snouts. She was annoyed. Annoyed at the coyotes for giving away their position and annoyed at the boys for looking for her. What the hell did they want? What could possibly make them think she hadn't burned to a crisp in the jeep.

"I see her!" the yell brought her attention back to the mouth of the den, where she and Gojyo locked eyed. "Shit, she's alive!"

Kagome verbally growled to the coyotes, hoping her accent wasn't so heavy that they wouldn't understand her. But after seeing how they charged out, all teeth snapping and growling threateningly, she was granted her hearts satisfaction.

They were to distract and scatter, giving her and them, enough time to escape, but the truce wasn't solid enough to allow that. As the coyote exited the den, they snapped at Kagome whenever she made to move. It was their den, so they would leave first.

Kagome didn't argue, but as the last one was leaving, she may have kicked him out of her way. Once free of the den, Kagome bolted. They'd never catch her, not as long as they were fending off coyotes who were intent on keeping their territory and pups safe. She ran like the wind, jumping and bounding and leaping over the uneven craggy rock face. Once she reached the even dirt floor at the bottom on the chasm, she would be home free. She allowed herself a little happy laugh, but as she landed and took off, an arm was thrown around her neck and she was crushed to a hard body.

"Kagome! Calm down, it's me, Gojyo!"

Oh, so it was Mr. Perfect waist. What the hell was he doing down here?

She relaxed against him, and as she did so his grip lessened.'_Such stupid demons_.'

she thought again as she raised her hand to rest on his. Without warning, Kagome tightened her grip on his arm, tooted her back out, and then flung him over her shoulder. Again she bolted, skirting around him just in case he got any ideas, but damned if he wasn't one step ahead of her. As she passed him, Gojyo kicked his legs around and tripped her.

As she fell hard onto her stomach, all the air in her lungs whooshed out in one, big, involuntary breath. She lay there momentarily dazed by the pain and at his nerve. The bastard had tripped her, and so she felt compelled to fight back as he forcefully flipped her over onto her back.

"Stop it!" Gojyo yelled as he and Kagome had a slapping fight on the ground. "What is wrong with you? Why aren't you dead?"

Kagome only growled in response as she continued to fight.

"I'm going to bite you! STOP!" Finally managing to get through her hands, Gojyo pinned Kagome to the ground.

Breathing heavily, Kagome glared up at him.

"Now…are you okay? What the hell happened? Did you jump out before the crash? Did you hit your head?"

"Did you?" Kagome retorted as she began struggling again. But though she was endowed with extra strength from mating with Kouga, Gojyo was actually half demon and so was stronger than her. Her struggles were proven futile.

"You have some explaining to do? We saw the footprints? They were burned into the ground. You walked away from that crash." Gojyo accused. "What are you?"

"I'm a zombie, jerk!" she snapped at him.

"What?" he drawled out in confusion as he cocked his head.

Trying not to smile at the utter adorableness of the idiotic gesture, Kagome pulled her knee up and rubbed it against him. She got the desired reaction when he released her arms to guard himself, thinking that she was going to knee him. With her arms free, Kagome clasped her hands together, swung, and hit him up side his head.

Crawling from underneath him, Kagome bounced to her feet and delivered a harsh kick to his abdomen.

"You were going to bite me, huh?" Kagome growled as she watched him stagger to his feet. Circling him, she waited to that last moment before latching herself onto his back.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, startled at her unusual attack. His answer came in the form of her blunt teeth sinking into his shoulder.

"Gojyo, what are you doing?" Hakkai asked gently as he came upon the scene of Gojyo running back and forth, trying to shake Kagome off his back.

"Don't just stand there, get her off me!"

Before Hakkai could make a move toward her, Kagome slid off Gojyo's back and kicked him into the unawares Hakkai. Laughing aloud, Kagome turned tail and ran. She almost ran into Sanzo, but with a bit of sliding and kicking up of dirt, she had managed to turn again. This time there was no one to block her way, but she did hesitate as someone shot at her.

"We don't shoot at girls, old man!" Kagome yelled at him momentarily, but seeing Gojyo and Hakkai getting up, she turned and ran.

* * *

She should have wondered what happened to the old smelling one. And she should have known that Kouga wasn't with her. But that didn't stop her from elapsing back into her dream.

It was just a game. Just like old times.

She heard him breathing heavily behind her. She heard the sound of his feet hitting the ground as he pursued her. She felt the thrill of the hunt. Just like old times.

She shrieked and kicked up her heels. "What's the matter, sweetie? Am I too fast for you?" She knew he wasn't, just like he did. It was just to antagonize him. Going by the sound of his quickened pace, Kagome was satisfied to see that it was working.

She saw him out of the corner of her eye. She saw him reaching out to her. Ready to snatch her up and claim her body as his own.

Not yet.

Just as his clawed hand made to grab her arm, Kagome threw herself to the ground. She heard him curse as he surpassed her. She jumped to her feet at the sound of upturned dirt as he slid to a stop and tried to turn around.

She giggled enticingly at him before heading toward the small grove of trees to her right. Now she had him. There'd be no catching her until she was ready.

She thought she heard him call out her name, but she couldn't be too sure. Not when she was too busy sending him through the ringer. She climbed a tree, and heard him scrambling up behind her, grunting with the effort that had her practically flying.

She felt a hand graze her ankle as she hesitated for a moment, but that was as far as he got.

Running to the edge of a limb, she leapt into a neighboring tree, and then the next closest three before hopping down to the ground. The fall jarred her knees a bit, but she only laughed it off as she began to run again. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that he was only now just getting to the top of the first tree. She frowned. It shouldn't have been that difficult for him.

Her frown was soon turned upside down as she saw that the rest of the way was pretty easy and that he was soon catching up to her. "Oh, no!" she screamed into the night before laughing aloud.

Looking up, Kagome saw that the sun was setting. That meant that it was almost time for the pack to start getting ready for the run. A shiver of anticipation ran down her spine. Kouga in a moon rage.

She leapt between a split in a tree, and when Kouga tried, she heard him hit the sides, and growl in frustration. She leapt into the trees again and heard him groan. Laughing she leapt from tree to tree, not giving him time to catch up. Staying up in the trees, Kagome weaved in and out of the branches, sometimes leaping higher and sometimes dropping low. She shoved branches out of her way and heard them slap him as he tried to follow.

"Would you hold up?" she heard him growl from directly behind her, probably only a breath away.

"Sure." she answered, grabbing hold of a strong high branch and used her momentum to swing up into a handstand. In her new position, Kagome couldn't see what happened to him, but she heard it as surprise made him lose his footing and he fell to the ground and sounding like he hit every branch there was.

She laughed softly to herself before flipping back to the lower branches. She looked down but couldn't see him for all the foliage. "Are you hurt badly, baby?"

Her answer came in the form of moans and the shaking of leaves as he started his way back up. She waited where she stood for a few moments. When she thought he was probably half way up, she leapt down to the ground.

"Oh, come on!" she heard him yell before she took off running again. Within a few short moments she heard him crashing through the underbrush after her. She saw a patch of thick shrubs ahead of her, and grinned evilly. Thick bushes were hell on Kouga's naked legs, so she headed straight for them. She bounded over the first few, she kicked off of tree for the next few, but the last patch she had to run through herself.

She heard him cursing as he ran through them, legs probably completely decorated now with fancy red lines.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" Kagome yelled over her shoulder as she hopped over a fallen tree "What's the point of me putting you through all this, if you can't catch me?"

"What do I get if I do?" she heard him ask, all the frustration and anger replaced with absolute interest.

_'So he wanted to play vague, did he?' _She could play that game too.

"Oh I don't know. It's a surprise." She said with a flirtatious air to her voice.

She didn't hear his response, if he even said anything, but she did hear his breathing get heavier as he put on a burst of speed and began to close the gap between them.

He was ready to put their game to an end. She knew the routine. When ever he sounded like that, it meant her run around game was over, and it was now his turn to be in control. Too bad for him she didn't feel the same. Yeah she wanted him to catch her, but she wanted it to be on her terms.

He was so close now that his feet fell into her footprints, and she felt his hands graze her back. She giggled at the touch and took a sharp right turn, almost collapsing into the thorn bushes that grew directly in front of her. Thankfully though, she saw them and had turned at just the right time, but Kouga wasn't so lucky. She heard him slide, then she heard him lose his balance, finally she heard him curse as he fell in.

Laughing loudly Kagome slowed down to a steady lope as she emerged from the grove and onto a grassy cliff. The cliff ended and fell away to open desert. She had reached the edge of the chasm, and with it came the remembrance that she wasn't in the feudal era. And if she wasn't in the feudal era, then that wasn't Kouga she had been…

She felt the energy leave her and she allowed herself to fall to the ground. She laid on her back and watched the sky turn from a golden, fiery orange and fade into purple. This was getting unbearable. Kouga was constantly on the edge of her brain now.

She felt and heard something heavy drop down next to her. Turning her head, she saw a very abused looking Goku sitting on his knees with his fist planted to the ground to hold himself up as he took in deep life-giving breaths.

"What happened to you?" she asked after his heavy breathing seemed to have no end. As she asked him, he turned to look at her with a face that had her genuinely laughing and putting her tragedies on the back burner.

Sitting up she smiled at him as she took in all his battered glory. "Sorry about all that, I got a little carried away."

"A little?"

Laughing again, Kagome launched herself on him, giving him a tight hug of forgiveness, and making them both fall back onto the ground. There they lay for a good while, long enough for Goku to regain his breath and for the awkwardness to make him finally speak up.

"Are you sleep?" he whispered.

Instead of answering him, Kagome picked her head up and looked into the sky. The full moon was bright and beckoning. "I've got to go." she declared, hopping to her feet and leaving the little man to feel bewildered.

"You…you can't go."

"And why not?" Kagome, who had been looking out into the desert, asked as she turned to give him an incredulous look.

"Because…because we've been searching this whole canyon for you." Jumping to his feet, Goku gave her a look that should have made his argument obvious.

"Yeah, why was that?"

"We had to wait until the fire had died down and then until the jeep was cool enough to handle. We were going to bury you. You know we thought it was the least we could do for you, after you tried to save us. But then when we do get there, your bodies missing and we see footprints burned into the ground. We thought you had run from the jeep and died somewhere else. But we still didn't find your body, but we saw where you had fallen and there were coyote paw prints everywhere. We figured they had carried your body off somewhere, and so we had to track them down."

"You guys just wanted to give me a proper resting place?" Kagome asked, oddly touched by the notion.

"Yeah, but you're not dead. Why aren't you dead? You should be dead, but you don't even have a scratch."

"Heh, would you look at that." Kagome marveled as she looked at her unscathed body.

"So, that's why you have to come back with me." Goku said firmly as he placed a strong hand around her elbow. "You have some explaining to do."

Jerking away from the tugging on her elbow, Kagome looked up at the moon. "I can't." she murmured.

"Why not? You have to, you owe us."

"Even though I like being blackmailed, I can't do it. I have to run." Not to mention she needed to avoid the hell out of them.

"Run? What for?"

"For…tradition. For Kouga." She whispered, bringing her arms up to hold herself.

"Your husband?" Goku asked just as quietly.

"We used to run all night under the full moon, and I think I should keep up with tradition. As a homage to him."

A silence followed her statement, allowing Kagome a brief peace as a gentle wind blew through the trees. The silence was then broken by the yips and howls of the coyotes as they began their moon celebration.

"Do _you_ want me to come back?" Kagome finally asked, startling the silent boy.

"Yeah, sure. I mean yeah, I do. I _want_ you to travel with us."

Kagome could hear the sincerity in his voice. She smiled softly at him, just as the chill of Death's disapproval went down her spine. Fuck the Grim Reaper, she was tired of Kouga's haunting memory, which was probably triggered by loneliness, they had went through all that trouble to find her, and Goku wanted her to come with him. She was going to stay with them this time. She made up her mind. Besides, she had been shot at.

"Tell you what? You let me run this night, and I'll come back with you."

"Really?"

"I swear on my non-dead body."

"That's gross, but alright."

"Thank you." Kagome said as she bent to kiss his cheek, making him smile brightly and blush.

Going over to the edge of the cliff, Kagome looked down to see the coyote make their way out into the desert. All were yipping, barking, and howling to show their excitement. She sniffed the cool night air and then let out her own howl. Causing the coyote to go into a frenzy.

Ending her howl with a yip, Kagome smiled wildly at a stunned Goku.

"Are you a werewolf?"

"Want to come with me?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"Me?" he asked with shock as his blush seemed to deepen.

"No the other old…you need another name besides old smelling one."

"Old smelling?" Goku asked with a wrinkle of his nose.

"How about…Wild One? You smell a little wildto me too, you know."

"I like it better than old smelling. Why do I smell old?"

"Because your dad exudes ancient."

"Who, _Sanzo_? Sanzo's not my dad."

"You want to come?" Kagome asked again, jumping from one topic to another.

"I can't, I have to wait for the rest to find me. You know, so they'll know you're going to come with us."

"But if you're here, and I'm out running, whose to say I'll come back or not."

By the look on Goku's face, Kagome knew that he hadn't thought about that.

"But…you are, right? You're going to come back, aren't you?"

"I don't know. I've been trying to avoid you guys ever since I met you. If I go out there by myself, I just might come to my senses."

"You…you wouldn't do that." Goku said somewhat skeptically.

"Please?" Kagome blurted, desperation thick in her voice. "I don't want to be alone anymore."

"Uh…alright, only if we come right back here."

"Of course." Kagome smiled, coming over to take his hand.

"How long is it going to last?" he asked her as she led him over to the edge of the cliff.

"It's not over until the sun says it's over." and with that note, Kagome leapt, pulling a very concerned Goku along for the ride.

* * *

"Well isn't this cute?" Gojyo asked no one in particular as they came across a very intimate and cuddly scene.

They had followed Goku's tracks all night, and had finally tracked him to a cliff edge, where they found him and Kagome snuggled together and sleeping soundly. Goku slept on his back with Kagome curled up into his side and his arm thrown protectively around her. They would have been there sooner, but the tracks through the trees had been hectic.

"Should someone take a picture?" Hakkai asked with a small smile.

"Wake up." Sanzo ordered loudly, without raising his voice. A feat only he could accomplish.

"What's going on?" Goku asked sleepily as he rose up, waking Kagome in the process. Sleepy though he was, Goku quickly became alert as he heard the gun cock. "Sanzo what are you doing?"

"Get out of the way." he merely said, his eyes locked onto Kagome's prone figure, who in turn only stared back with a bored defiance.

"Wait!" Goku cried, bounding to his feet to stand between Kagome and the gun. "She agreed to talk with us! You don't need to do that!"

"What is she? She obviously isn't human, demons are after her, she controls coyotes, and I thought I said move."

"That's no reason to shoot her. She's a werewolf."

"I thought you said you were a zombie." Gojyo accused.

"I thought you were a pretty girl with every flavored skin." Hakkai added, and tried to look serious while hiding his smile when others turned to look at him.

"Explain!" Sanzo ordered her, ignoring Goku's persistence.

"I don't think so." Kagome shrugged.

"What?" he asked, his voice low and deadly.

"I said" Kagome continued, her eyes bright as her smile twisted. "I don't think I have to explain a damn thing to you."

"Is that so?"

Climbing to her feet and pushing Goku out of her way, Kagome marched up to Sanzo and met him toe to toe. "Yeah that's so. Now you either put that gun away…or shoot me." Grabbing hold of the gun with one hand and Sanzo's hand with the other, Kagome pressed the gun into her chest.

"Don't…test me."

"Well, you're testing me, monk."

"Am I? And how is that?"

"You're trying my patience."

"You've tried mine ever since we met you. Every time we run across you, we end up fighting."

"No one asked you to help me."

"Well maybe we should have let the rapist have at you, then?"

"…he would have been dead before daybreak."

"Funny you should say that when you were drunk out of your mind and getting beat up."

"You sweet talker, I've been in worse situations, and I suggest you back off and put your weapon down before you get hurt."

"Before _I_ get hurt?"

"Yeah, _you_."

"You're the one in danger of getting hurt. You might be able to walk away from a crash, but I doubt you can dodge bullets."

"Want to bet?" Kagome snarled, pressing the gun further into her chest, and looking Sanzo dead in the eye.

* * *

"I can't believe you shot her." Gojyo said with a shake of his head as they hovered over Kagome's dead body.

"She dared me." Sanzo countered with a shrug.

"S-Sanzo…what did you do?" Goku asked with tears in his eyes as he knelt beside Kagome's body and lifted her limp body into his arms. "You can't take her seriously…she's…not right…"

Hakkai offered no comment and was silent as he looked upon the corpse.

"Sanzo…" Goku said with some difficulty, "…my chest hurts…"

"Ooh," Gojyo hissed. "good luck with that one, pops."

"You'll be fine." Sanzo said gruffly as he pulled out a cigarette.

Goku sobbed as he hugged the body to him closer. No matter how much the woman meant to him, he couldn't be mad at Sanzo…for too long.

"You alright there, Hakkai?" Gojyo asked, as he came to slap a comforting hand to his back.

"I'm fine…I'm just waiting."

"For it all to sink in?"

Down on the ground, Kagome opened her eyes. "Ow." she murmured dryly.

"For that I think." Hakkai answered as Gojyo stepped back with a sickened look on his face.

Goku yelled incoherently as he dropped Kagome in surprise.

"You're alive." Sanzo declared blandly.

"Yeah, no thanks to you." she growled as she painfully pulled herself into a sitting position. "Who the hell blesses their bullets? _Holy_ _bullets_? What is the deal?"

"Kagome!" Goku yelled as he hastily wiped the tears from his face. Pulling Kagome to her feet he crushed her against him in a mighty hug, before remembering the hole in her chest. "Does it hurt? How can you stand it?"

"You know," Kagome said thoughtfully as she looked at the steadily closing hole in her chest. "Once you get over the pain, it actually kind of tickles."

"You are a remarkable woman." Hakkai remarked with a smile.

"That's what I've been told." Kagome said as she smiled brightly at him, and then they were upon her.

"We've got you now, Sanzo-party!" the head demon yelled as he held Kagome under his arm.

"Where'd they come from?" Gojyo asked, more concerned about their sudden and random appearance than their seize of Kagome.

"Prepare to die!" he yelled, brandishing Kagome head first at the group.

"Kaaaaboooom!" Kagome said after an awkward second's pause.

"What the hell?" Gojyo questioned aloud what they all were thinking.

"What the hell?" the demons yelled at Kagome's lack of cooperation. Pulling her back to them, they turned her up side and shook her.

"How the hell do you get her to work?" another asked as he looked down her mouth.

"Say the magic word." Kagome offered.

"Shut up!" the demon yelled at her, but as he saw the boys make a move towards them, he brandished Kagome at them like a sword. "Stay back or else!"

"Or else what?" Sanzo asked him.

"Just stay back! Wait until we figure out how she works."

"Maybe she works like a explosive and you have to throw her." the third demon suggested.

"Yeah so lets throw her at them." the second agreed.

"Yeah, but what if that's not how she works and they get her and use her on us." the leader countered reasonably.

"Hey." Gojyo called out to Kagome, who was hanging limply as the head demon held her by her ankles. "You want us to stop them now?'

"Not yet, I want to hear what they decide on." Kagome answered good naturedly.

Sighing in annoyance, Sanzo quickly ending the life of the three demons with shots to the heads.

"You are no fun." Kagome complained as she picked herself up from where she had fallen.

Sanzo merely grunted as he walked up to her and poked her in the chest where he had shot her.

Kagome countered with a slap.

And then silence followed.

"Now that I know it won't kill you…" Sanzo ended it there as he turned his head back to face her and lifted his gun to her forehead.

"I believed you were owed that, Sanzo." Hakkai spoke up as he came to Kagome's rescue and forced Sanzo's arm away.

"We do not poke a lady in her breast without permission." Kagome scolded the blonde as she let herself be lead away by Hakkai.

"Agreed," Hakkai added, "and I believe you owe us an explanation about your earlier escapade and our friends behavior back there."

"Do I now?" Kagome asked, her eyes on the small dragon that had appeared from the forest to land on Hakkai's shoulder opposite her.

"Hey, where are you two going?" she heard Gojyo question as they continued into the forest, but he didn't give them time to answer before he and the rest were following.


	12. Chp 11

* * *

**Chp. 11 Tales of a Lonely Miko**

* * *

Hakkai led her away from the cliff, back into the grove, and down into the valley. There he found a fallen tree under the shade of the rock face and sat her down.

"Now," he began as he took her hand. "Why don't you start from the beginning?"

"The beginning?" Kagome repeated languidly, her eyes on the small dragon resting about his neck. "Which beginning? The beginning of time? The beginning of this conversation? Or maybe the beginning of my time with you guys? Perhaps you'd like to start with the beginning of my life? Or beginning of womanhood? We could also start from the beginning of my adult life. The beginning of my life with Kouga. Or the beginning of my life without…?"

"Let's try it this way," Hakkai interrupted. "What is your name?"

Kagome smiled up at him this time, and by now, the others were lounging about within hearing distance. This was the turning point with these guys. She could either tell them the truth, or she could lie like she did with Naruto. "My name is Kagome Higurashi."

"_What_are you?" Hakkai continued.

Kagome looked up into the sky. "I'm a girl, a woman really, female, young and vibrant. I'm a Virgo, a widow, a tad bit of a fanatical, and I'm also a lonely miko."

"What's a miko?" Goku asked.

"A shrine priestess."

"_You're_a priestess?" Gojyo called out in unconvinced clarity.

"_He's_a monk and you have the nerve to question that I'm a priestess?" Kagome snapped as she turned to face him. He then had the grace to keep his mouth closed.

"So you're a priestess?" Hakkai ventured, trying to put the conversation back on track and giving her hand a squeeze to draw her attention back to him.

"Yes." she answered, and when it seemed that he would have to prompt her with another question, she continued. "My shrine was located in the northern mountains, a bit east of here. My shrine was a well kept secret. It had to be, because we were the keepers of an evil artifact. The Shikon No Tama, and I was it's protector. With my touch, I could purify the evil and quiet it's thirst for destruction. Though we tried to stay hidden from the world, those who came close enough would sense the jewel's presence and seek it out. That's how we got some of residents at the shrine. The jewel seekers. Not all were hungry for power, some were just seeking refuge and retribution for deeds done to them. One was a demon exterminator by the name of Sango, whose entire tribe was murdered by an evil demon while she had been buried alive. She came seeking the jewel to avenge her family. Another was a sordid monk named Miroku. He came looking for a cure for his cursed hands. Shippo also came seeking the jewel. He was only a child, barely bigger than a bread box. He was a fox demon whose parents had been murdered by thunder demons. He came seeking the jewel to avenge his parents and retrieve his father's pelt. And then there was Inuyasha and Kikyo. He was a hanyou seeking the jewel to become full demon, and Kikyo…was his human woman."

Kagome now began caressing Hakkai's hand as she stared into her lap. "They all came seeking the jewel; instead I gave them a home, consultation, and reprieve. They became my close friends and I hoped to help them all in their special needs one day, and in return they helped me protect the jewel from the demons and humans seeking it for evil purposes. Possession of the whole jewel would grant the holder any wish they desired, while only a sliver of it would increase their power tenfold. It was easy going, the demons usually came solo, or in pairs and they were easily dispatched. But then when the madness swept through, they attacked at once. They came in legions, and we were overwhelmed."

She paused as if remembering that day. "They fell. One by one my friends fell. They were misfits, and they were _warriors._They killed as many demons that day as they did in their entire lifetime. But for every demon they killed, three more would take their place. So they died, and I was left to fight the horde by myself. I held no illusions that I would live to see the next day, but I vowed to take every last one of them with me. I was hurting, I had just watched my friends die, and the only thing standing between the jewel and the demons was a very lonely miko. It was enough. I killed them all. My miko blared out and purified all those around me, and when it looked as if I would fail, I tapped into my life source. I destroyed a whole mountain full of demons. I killed them all, and then I was ready. I lay there, broken, bleeding, and drained."

Kagome voice turned dark and bitter, while her hold on Hakkai's hand became painful for him. It took her second to realize this. Throwing his hand into his lap, Kagome sprang up, not registering those around her as she began to drown in her past.

"But I didn't die! _Why_? There was nothing left in me to survive. Yet I was doing it. It got to the point where my remaining power started healing me. I had been numb with the coming of death, but when I started to heal, I felt it. I was alone, surviving on that mountain, while my friends lay dead around me. And so I did something stupid! I used the damn jewel. I wished my friends back, and it would have worked. IT WOULD HAVE WORKED! If I had realized that I was too weak to purify the damn thing. So, when I wished for my friends back, they came back, but the evil of the jewel was now in them. It had seeped out through a crack the jewel had acquired in the battle. I was almost dead myself, so when the evil escaped, it entered me too. My remaining powers fought it as more of more of the jewels power entered me, trying to taint me, but in the end I purified it. But it changed me. I can no longer use my holy powers, I can't die, and now…now I'm the jewel, and demons are after me."

"What happened to your friends?" Hakkai asked her.

"They scattered. While I was fighting the jewel's influence, they escaped. Each of my friends had their personal little quirks, and possessed by the evil of the jewel, those quirks are pushed to the front. Because I'm the jewel, and they are the evil within the jewel, I sense them, I feel them, and I have to kill them. I forced them into this hell they're living, and I must free them."

"How many have you found?" Goku asked her.

"I've only managed to free one, Miroku. When he was alive, Miroku, enjoyed to tickle women's flesh with his hands. He groped them. And as the monster…he was a fatal hedonist. When I killed him, I felt his gratitude. They fight me, but they _want_ me to release them."

"Whoa!" Goku muttered. "So what'll happen when you get them all? What are you going to do then?"

"When it's over?" Kagome asked as she turned to look at him before throwing her arms open wide and raising her face up to the sun. "God, I just hope I die!"

They were stunned at the sincerity in her voice.

"What? You can't mean that." Gojyo voiced what they all were thinking.

"Yes, I do." she answered him seriously. "I have nothing to live for."

"Surely there must be something." Hakkai suggested.

"What could there be? My shrine is destroyed, my friends are dead, my husband's dead, my ch…" she sputtered to a stop and took a deep breath. "…and the jewel is a dead piece of glass. What is there?"

"Perhaps there is something or someone you could…"

"What? I might find friends, a love interest? Who the hell wants me? I'm damaged. The damn jewel screwed with my mind. I'm insane, but _sane _enough to know it. I can't cry, I tried to kidnap a child, and I laugh at nothing. Who would want that around? I'm more trouble than I'm worth. No one knows me for what I was, I wasn't like this. Besides, I doubt if I can truly feel anything for anyone or anything anymore. I rarely feel the urgency to go on with this task. But I can fake it. I can fake my emotions and humanity. I've _been_ faking it. But I don't want to anymore. So I just want it all to end with my death."

"Well," Goku started after the silence became awkward. "…we're just going to have to change your mind."

Kagome smiled down at him. "I wish you could."

"Why," he questioned triumphantly. "because deep down inside you don't want to die?"

"No, because I would love to see what could possibly make me want to remain among the living."

"Although I would love to continue this morbid conversation," Sanzo interrupted. "We have to go."

"Right. Kagome," Hakkai called out, "Just _where_ are you headed?"

"Me? Well, let's see," Kagome put her ear to the wind and listened for something the other's couldn't fathom. "I'm heading west."

"Figures." Sanzo muttered.

* * *

"Aren't your feet burning?"

The boys had set out walking, to give Hakuryuu a rest, Hakkai had said, and now as a part of their group, Kagome followed. They had been at it for a little over two hours and she had been constantly bombarded with questions from Gojyo and Goku with Hakkai adding his own ever now and then. She think he did it just to provoke Sanzo's irritation, and just _because_it annoyed him, Kagome answered every last of their questions.

With that in mind, Kagome turned to face Gojyo, for he had been the one to ask her. Choosing her words carefully, Kagome answered him. "If you're asking me if my bare feet are burning on the hot desert sand, when I…had just recovered from burning alive inside a death trap of a burning jeep? Then yes, my feet are burning."

"What was that little pause?" he continued.

"Self-censoring."

"What? Were your about to say something naughty?" Goku asked in his unnatural, creepy, dark voice.

"Not in the way you're thinking. Just trying to keep all my thoughts from getting out."

"Why?" Hakkai asked, not bothering to turn around to ask her, though the little dragon did. "Do you have secrets you need to keep?"

"That is possible, but it's just mostly to save your ears from hearing what's going in my head. It'll ruin your lives."

"Too late." Sanzo muttered to himself.

"What's the matter Pops, does my presence upset your old bones?"

"I'm barely out of my twenties!"

"Not in your mind and soul, just in this taut, young body." she said as she bounced up behind him and slapped him on the butt.

The growl was born of pure aggravation and as the gun slid from his robes, Kagome clasped her hand around his wrist and forced it into the air. With his one arm stretched out, Kagome stepped into his embrace and kissed him on the jaw bone. "You're old before your time." she whispered in his ear. "Lighten up and enjoy life while you can."

Sanzo didn't give her statement time to sink in before he made a grab at her with his free hand. Giggling to herself, Kagome attempted to jump onto his back, but as if having second sight, Sanzo managed to flip her over his back and slam her onto the ground.

"Knowing that it won't really hurt you....takes the meaning out of shooting you." Sanzo growled as he pinned her down with a glare. "You're just a waste of bullets."

"That's sweet." Kagome commented from the ground as she crossed her legs and placed her hands behind her head.

The lack of a response only goaded Sanzo's annoyance and with an aggravated sigh he began to stalk off again.

"Bored?" Hakkai asked good naturedly as he appeared by her side and offered her his hand.

"A little." she answered as she took his hand and got up. But before letting his hand go, she held it above her head and did a dancer's spin, and as she faced him again she curtsied just as he bowed gracefully.

"Shall we?" He asked as his thumb stroked their intertwined hands.

"We shall." she answered with a brilliant smile, excited at having someone follow her train of thought.

With a semi-serious look on his face, Hakkai spun Kagome into his embrace before placing his hands on her waist and tossing her like a ballerina.

"Those two hit it off fast." Goku muttered darkly as he stared after the dancing pair.

"You should have asked her to dance then." Gojyo reprimanded him.

"Stop encouraging her!" Sanzo snapped.

"You need to find a safer hobby than harassing Sanzo." Hakkai told her after an amused silence had passed.

"What's he going to do…_kill_ me?" she retorted with a smile.

"I guess not, but you might stroke him out."

"I heard that." Sanzo growled from his position ahead of the pack.

"Are those furs hot?" Gojyo asked her.

"Why are you so worried about me being hot?"

"Just making conversation."

"Well then, no, I'm not. There's enough skin exposed and I'm used to wearing furs."

"Why did the coyote let you stay with them if you killed some of them for the fur?" Goku asked as she came to walk next to her.

"First off, _I_ didn't kill _any_ coyote. They were already dead and I did the others a favor by burying the dead to keep the scavenger's from them, so they allowed my to skin them. And second, they let me live with them because they recognized me as injured kin."

"Kin?" Goku inquired with a triumphant smile. "So you _are_ a werewolf!"

"I'm not a werewolf, but I married a wolf and now I've got some wolf under my skin."

"You married a wolf?" Hakkai inquired.

"Kouga." she clarified. "He was a wolf demon."

"I thought you said you were a priestess." Gojyo said with accusation in his voice.

"I am, doesn't mean I can't fall in love! Yeah, he was a demon, but I loved him and he was the only man that loved me, wanted to be with me, and didn't…" here Kagome paused and took a breath. "…treat me like useless scum. To just be thrown away!"

"Wow, sounds like you've got some baggage." Gojyo observed. "What? So, you went to a demon because your human guy was a jerk."

"Actually, no. The human guy who liked me, wasn't really my type after the jewel came into play, the guy who did me wrong was a hanyou. Inuyasha."

"The guy from your story?" Goku asked.

"Yeah." Kagome answered with a fond smile.

"But I thought he had a woman."

"Not when I met him. I knew him for a while before she even was an issue. They had long broken up, and he was free for me to love. And I did, loved him more than a woman could love a man. I would have died for that foul mouth, bad tempered dog. I think he loved me too, or he was just overly possessive, that's why he and Kouga never got along. I had planned on spending the rest of my life with him after the affair with the jewel was over, hell, I planned on giving it to him so he could become full demon even though I thought he was perfect the way he was. Then she came. I _thought_ he loved me, but I _knew _he had loved her. She was his first love just like he was mine. He chose her over me and broke my heart. Then Kouga came, he had been courting me even when I was with Inuyasha, and when he came again, I chose him."

Kagome looked up after her flood of memories to find that she had an audience. She put on a brazen smile. "It all turned out for the better, I think. Love is blind and with Inuyasha I accepted being called names like stupid woman and wench. Stupid dog. Oh and I didn't mean to bombard you guys with tales of a lonely miko pt. II."

"It's fine." Hakkai answered for her.

"Yeah, Kagome." Goku spoke up as he threw an arm around her shoulder and inconspicuously pulled her to him and away from Hakkai. "I like hearing more about you."

"Even the sad parts, because that's kind of what's all I got."

"Uh, just makes me feel closer to you."

"And you think that's a _good _thing?" she questioned soberly as she pulled away from him.

"Well isn't it?" he asked in confusion with hurt written on his face. Kagome didn't answer him, she didn't even look back.

* * *

They found a big rock.

"We might as well set down for the night." Sanzo stated as leaned up against the large boulder to gain some rest and a reprieve from the relentless sun. "This desert doesn't look like it's going to cough up any town too soon and it's getting dark"

The others seemed to agree with him and Kagome watched with mild fascination as Hakuryuu leapt from Hakkai's neck and landed as a jeep.

"Hmm." she muttered. "Automotive version of Kirara."

"What you say Kagome?" Goku hollered as he and the others emerged from a hidden trunk in the jeep with a bundle in their arms.

"I didn't say anything." Kagome answered with a small smile as she crept closer to the them and saw that the bundles they held were sleeping bags.

"Oh, no. It seems like we have a bit of a problem." Hakkai observed as he counted the four sleeping bags and the five bodies.

"You can share with me, Kagome!" Goku offered with a wide smile.

"What are you teaching him?" Sanzo asked Gojyo with accusation deep in his voice.

"Me?" Gojyo called out in indignation while tossing his sleeping bag into Kagome's unprepared arms. "He hangs out with you most of the time."

"Where are you going to sleep?" Kagome asked him, touched by his sacrifice.

"I'm used to sleeping on hard surfaces, I'll be fine." He waved her off with a shrug.

"So am I." she argued softly as she forced the bag back into his arms.

"Besides." she interrupted before he could open his mouth. "I won't be sleeping this night anyway."

"Hey! That's right!" Goku exclaimed as he hopped to her side. "It's the second night of the full moon."

"What goes on on the full moon?" Hakkai asked her, but it was Goku who answered.

"She runs all night to honor Kouga."

"And the rest of the pack." Kagome added with a small smile as she looked up at the darkening sky. "Plus, I was with Kouga and the pack too long. The moon calls to me too."

"Right, what she said. So I guess I'll just put this back."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sanzo asked as he pulled Goku's sleeping bag from his grasp, keeping him from replacing it in the jeep.

"I'm going to go run with Kagome." He complained. "She doesn't like to be alone."

"No, I think I'll be fine this night." Kagome said as she looked out into the fathomless desert.

"But…"

"No buts, unlike your girlfriend there, you need sleep."

"But…what if she runs away and doesn't come back?"

"Good riddance?" Sanzo offered just as Kagome burst into laughter and ran off.

* * *

Since she wasn't being hunted this moon, Kagome found herself chasing down any rodent or lesser predator that she sensed. She tormented the sky with her howls and she conjured sdust devils as she hunted. She ran until her legs burned and her lungs collapsed only to be restored as she howled. Despite fatigue she found that she could only fathom that she could continue from drawing energy from the ever present moon.

As she chased down, what appeared to be a Jackalope, her foot found a rattlesnake den and she fell hard onto the ground. She lay where she had fallen as a parade of emotions went through her mind and only a few feet away, the Jackalope stared after her in silence as it regained it's breath. Only when it hopped away did she burst into peals of laughter. She rolled onto her back, still laughing and ignoring her broken foot, and looked up into the sky just as the first rain drop fell.

"Where'd you come from?" she exclaimed with a laugh as she climbed to her now healed feet. Raising her arms out to the sky, Kagome took a deep nose full of the stormed drenched air.

She wasn't sure what had overcome her, but by the time the rain had reached it's peak and she was soaked, she found herself…at peace.

She felt genuinely happy and alive. The rain on her skin soothed her aching muscles and seemed to drown her malfunctions til the only things on her mind was the rain and her happiness. She started out with a few leaps with a spin thrown in every now and then. She lost herself in the rain, and she danced. Closing her eyes, she imagined herself dancing with a partner. She thought hard and positioned herself in the way she would if her partner was taller and broad shouldered.

She imagined him with a steady hand around her waist and her hand on his shoulder. Of course he was light on his feet, because as soon as she situated herself, she was off. She ran and leapt, and twirled. The longer she danced with her invisible partner the more substantial he became. She imagined him lifting her up, dipping her, matching her toe-to-toe. It wasn't until her imaginary partner started to lead that she realized how crazy the whole situation was, but it was too late by then…she was having too much fun.

The hand on her waist became stronger, and their intertwined hands clenched each other whenever she was twirled. She and her imagination waltzed through the storm. One, two, three, one, two, three. She swayed her hips and they promenaded. She spun away freely and danced wildly and imagined her partner dancing around her waiting for his chance to bring her back into a more cultivated routine. She and her partner spun riotously around the desert. Dancing to the rhythm of the storm. The raindrops, the thunder, and the lightning. Orchestrated together to give Kagome peace in mind, body, and soul. Not so much the mind since she was dancing with an imaginary figure.

'_Kagome.'_

She stopped just as she was about to leap. The call brought her back down to earth and her partner lost substance and was gone. The caller was closer now. She had assumed it had been Sango, calling her to her and making sure she was still in the world. Except it wasn't as she had assumed. The caller, now closer, didn't carry the same ambiance as did her possessed friends. This was different, this was someone else, something that wanted her for…she didn't know.

Where her friends' presence was dark, foreboding, and malicious, the newcomer that called her was wild, ambivalent, shrouded in the otherness that surrounded the Grim Reaper.

"Death, you bastard," she growled into the storm. "is that you fucking with me?" her answer came in the form of an aberrant chill rolling down her spine; Death. She got the feel of his being; no, it wasn't Death that called to her.

"Something wicked, this way comes." she whispered with a wicked smile.

She peered out into the haze, daring her caller to come forth.

"Come and get me, here I am." she taunted, and come they did…but if it was he who called to her, she didn't know.

It started off as growl, but she thought it was the thunder, until the thunder struck back at her. Like a torpedo to her back, she fell forth and skidded across the wet desert ground. With her face buried in water and mud, Kagome didn't see her attacker as they flew over her head. As she came up gasping and spitting, she caught the tail end of something black and furry.

"Running from me?" she called out with a devilish grin as she felt the moon rage take her. "I am the huntress tonight! None can escape!"

She sprang to her feet and howled the hunter's call, before she took chase. Always just a glimpse; was what she saw of her prey. Just a glimpse of black fur and a growl befit of thunder. She ran wild after her prey, she slipped and slide but she didn't give up. She howled and growled like the wolves she loved as she chased down her phantom. As she got more into the hunt, the more agile she became. When she leapt, she practically soared. As she ran her feet seemed to rarely touch the ground. Even with the rain obscuring her view she knew where her quarry was. It lead her in circles as it tried to shake her off and it growled its' thunderous growl to frighten her, but still she came.

"I am the huntress!" She howled into the storm.

Her howl was supposed to be her own means of frightening her fiend, but as it ended, her quarry began to get ahead of her.

"NO!" she growled, enraged at the thought of losing her entertainment. She picked up the pace. Her speed almost reaching that of her lost mate's. "Where are you going? I thought you were looking for me!"

It was gone. She knew it like she knew Sanzo was the angriest, grumpiest, monk she had ever gotten shot by. She growled in frustration as she tried to catch up, but no matter how fast she ran she couldn't seem to catch a glimpse of the black monstrosity. But she continued to run. That is, she continued to run up until she ran into the tree. She attempted a hit and run, but the tree had grabbed her by the arms and refused to let her go.

"Damn Foliage!" She screamed.

"What you call me?"

At the sound of the tree's voice, Kagome halted her fight for flight and looked up through wet hair and rain to find herself staring at a wet, red-haired man with a perfect waist. "Hey, waist. What's up?"

"Besides getting soaked and beat up on by a crazy woman? I came out to find you because our campsite is flooding and we're just going to chance it in the jeep at finding a town or something."

"What's the matter?" she asked as he began pulling her back the way he had come from. "Can't rough it?".

"We just prefer not to." he countered as he turned to grin at her, just in time to catch her as she slipped on the slick ground.

"Thanks, waist." Kagome breathed with a laugh, then her eyes grew wide.

"What?" Gojyo asked in sudden anxiety. "What is it? Is something the matter?"

"You," she gasped as she stepped closer to him. "…smell more interesting when wet."

"Umm…thanks?"

"You're welcome." she laughed, glad to have unsettled someone. "Now come one. The campsite's flooding and we might find a town if we ride in the jeep."

"Didn't I just say that?"

"Maybe, but it sounded better when I said it."

* * *

He saw her.

She was beautiful…so beautiful.

Dancing in the storm that was just as wild as she had become.

A wraith hidden amongst the storm.

Much like he was.

He wasn't getting closer; he had her.

Now all he had to do was wait.


	13. Chp 12

**

* * *

**

Chp. 12 The Village

* * *

Needless to say, by the next morning, and when no town had surfaced, the Sanzo-party were a bit tuckered out. They had driven all night through the rain, hoping for a town to pop up, but as the storm went and morning came, there was nothing to be had except more desert. Having been driven hard throughout the night, the poor little dragon was passed out in a deep sleep around Hakkai's neck.

Kagome couldn't help the grin that pained her face as she walked behind them. With the sun burning brightly above them, and with their lack of sleep, the boys were grumbling, groaning, stumbling, and moaning across the desert floor. She would have called them out for their inability to cope but she remembered that last night wasn't the only night the boys hadn't gotten to sleep. The night before, they had been up all night chasing her undead body through a gorge. Goku was the only one who had gotten any sleep that night, but he had been too worn out from their run to have gained any real rest.

"You interrupted my run just so I could watch you guys die of exhaustion?"

"You're not looking too sprite yourself!" Sanzo snapped with a grumble.

"Was that an ugly joke?"

"I don't think there's such thing in your case." Goku piped in from her side, though he was barely able to keep walking.

"Well aren't you flattering and sweaty." Kagome told him as she bumped his shoulder affectingly, but when she realized what she had done she swiped the smile from her face and picked up her pace.

She didn't get very far before a hot hand had clasped around her arm. Shocked at first, Kagome's nose told her who it was and she relaxed as Gojyo pulled her in close to talk with her privately as they walked.

"I think you hurt his feelings when you do that." he whispered sternly.

"I'll hurt him worse if I get close."

"You know, you're pretty damn full of yourself."

"Is that so?" Kagome asked, turning her head to face him, but he wouldn't look at her as they tramped along.

"Do you really think you're going to have that big of an effect on us, on him? Other people have traveled with us before? You're not the first, and do you see any of them with us or are we broken and

pathetic? Who do you think you are? Don't treat us like shit just because you don't want to get attached. It's not all about you."

Kagome was silent as she felt her anger rise. Stopping in her tracks, she snatched her arm from his grasp and looked him dead in the eye, not even caring when he flinched from the contact. "It's not all about you either." she snapped at him. "I'm trying to keep a bit of humanity. Last time, when I tried to kidnap that kid, I could give a rat's ass about what I was doing or who I was doing it too. I was going to snatch him away from everything he knew and loved because I didn't want…and his life would have been shit and I wouldn't have cared."

"But you didn't do it, so get over yourself."

"I didn't do it, because I was stopped. He stopped me and I had to give him back. I'm trying to keep myself from that frame of mind again. Do you think I enjoy wanting to kidnap people? Do you know how it feels to retain the complete opposite personality and lifestyle that you really are? I feel like a woman possessed most of the time." Kagome was silent a moment as she seemed to consider the thought.

"You know," Gojyo stated after a second's pause. "I'm not sure if you're self-centered or pathetic."

Kagome's laugh was dark as she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close. "What are you trying to do?" she whispered.

"What makes you think I'm up to something?"

"You're annoying me, Waist. And I think you should stop while you're ahead, because I smell more on you than sex and candy. Don't make me…"

"What the hell are you doing?" Goku asked, tired of their whispered talking.

Looking up from their heated argument, Kagome and Gojyo saw that they had an audience. Glancing back at each other, they backed off and didn't look at each other again.

"I'm going to run up ahead." Kagome announced as she jogged off at a steady pace.

"What did you do?" Goku accused staring angrily at Gojyo. "Kagome! Come back, he didn't mean it!"

"How the hell do you know if I meant something or not? You don't even know what we were talking about."

"She got under your skin too." Sanzo muttered. "And here I thought I was special."

* * *

Once she began to run, Kagome realized she couldn't stop. Forgetting her little tiff with Gojyo, she enjoyed the wind, although hot and sandy, in her hair and the feel of the ground beneath her feet. The sun had dried most of the ground by then, but the clouds overhead promised more of the same, and Kagome found that she was excited at the thought of it.

She hopped into the air, felt something call her name, and fell to the ground in a heap. After a second of listening, she felt the smile fall upon her lips. She felt the presence of one of her friends. Standing up, she turned in a full circle, trying to gauge the direction from which they would attack. She knew it; she knew this call was more than just a check up. It was time for battle…for the end. The end of the tragedy for one of her friends, and the end of her time with the Sanzo-party. She couldn't say she was sorry to leave them.

She was facing the direction of the Sanzo-party when she felt them…and they were close. She smelled them before she heard them; they smelled of rage and pain, and the smell came from behind her. As she spun on her heel to face them, she ended up with a face full of claws as a mighty roar sounded in her ears.

Picking herself up from where she had fallen, Kagome looked around for her assailant, taking a while since she had to blink away the blood from her torn face. When her eyes did spot her attacker, her face broke out into a bloodied grin as Kirara stalked her.

"Kirara!" she laughed. "Who the hell wished _you _back?"

Kirara, completely covered in the black evil the same as her other friends, growled viciously at her.

"Here kitty, kitty." she teased as she got into her own stalking position.

Kirara didn't seem to find her joke funny and snarled at her before turning and taking off into the air.

"What? Was it something I said?" Sitting on her haunches, confused and bleeding, Kagome looked at the fading speck that was Sango's companion.

It wasn't until she felt a chill go down her back did she realize that Kirara was heading towards the Sanzo-party. "Oh."

Before she had decided on it, Kagome was on her feet and racing Kirara back to the boys. Though Kirara had a head start on her, Kagome soon caught sight of the cat demon and picked up her pace until she was directly under it. As she glanced down and saw Kagome running parallel to her, Kirara growled angrily before gaining height and disappearing above the clouds.

"Damn!" Kagome cursed with smile as she picked up the pace.

It wasn't long before the boys appeared on the horizon. They were still walking languidly, heat and exhaustion having no positive effects on them. Seeing them unhurt she slowed down to a steady jog with her eyes and ears on the lookout for Kirara.

As she approached, Goku lit up, but she ignored him as she continued to look into the sky. She had just about marked the cat as gone when the smell of rage and pain intensified. Kagome quickened up as she spotted the hellcat emerge from the clouds, at full charge, heading straight for one of the boys. As she ran, Kagome kept her eyes trained on Kirara, her mind intent on figuring out who she would attack first and making sure she stopped her.

"Kagome! What's wrong?" Goku asked, seeing the urgency on her face.

They stopped as she reached them and stared in surprise as she tackled Hakkai to the ground. They would have confirmed her psychosis in their heads, if it wasn't for the dark and ominous shape that swooped down on the spot Hakkai had just stood.

"What the hell is that?" Gojyo yelled, as the dark creature landed on the ground before them and growled viciously with saliva dripping from its ferocious fangs.

"Quit asking questions and get out your weapons!" Kagome reprimanded him from her crouched position over Hakkai's body, her disturbed eyes locked on that of the strange creature's.

"What about you?" Hakkai asked her, looking over his head at the stalking beast. "You don't have a weapon."

"Now why would you go and tell her that?" Kagome shot at him angrily as Kirara charged, knocking the unaware boys to the ground as she made her way towards Kagome and Hakkai.

As the cat approached, Kagome rose up off of Hakkai, waiting to take the force of the blow, but as Kirara reached them, Hakkai threw a hand around Kagome's waist and flipped over so that he was atop of her and as the surprised Kirara passed by he shot her in the side with a ki blast. It wasn't enough to hurt her, but the demon lay on the ground in a momentary daze.

"Well aren't you chivalrous." Kagome stated as Hakkai stood up, with the arm around her waist pulling her up along with him.

She wasn't in his arms long before someone had grabbed hold of her arm and tugged her from being in close contact with Hakkai. It was Goku.

"Come on Kagome, you need to come with me." The little man said as he tried to tug her away from the oncoming battle.

"There is no place for her to hide. She should stay behind me." Hakkai countered back as he tried to pull her behind him.

In the meantime, Kirara was getting back to her feet, and if her growls were anything to go by, she was more angry than hurt.

"HEY!" Sanzo snapped as he came over. "I'll shoot you both if you don't let that woman go! She's lasted this long, so I'm sure she can take care of herself!"

Rather grudgingly, Goku released her arm, while Hakkai gave her a small apology as he let her go.

"Thanks Pop." She said gratefully as she focused on the stalking demon as it began to circle them.

"Yeah, she can take care of herself." Gojyo commented as he joined them. "Even if she doesn't have weapons, she made mince meat out of that demon back in the forest."

Kagome would have appreciated the support if, with the arrival of Gojyo, she hadn't noticed that they had boxed her in between the four of them. She growled just as Kirara roared.

The boys pulled in tighter around her as Kirara charged. As they brandished their weapons, Kagome went to work on trying to get armed. She stuck her fingers down her throat and gagged.

Busy heaving, Kagome didn't notice that the fight had already begun. Hakkai and Sanzo halted Kirara's charge by shooting her. The big cat stopped charging, but she didn't fall down. Growling, she pounced at them but was forced back as they shot again.

Cautious now, Kirara charged at them, serpentine fashions, making all their shots a miss. That was when Gojyo attacked with his shakujo, but as the chain came closer, Kirara dodged and grabbed hold of the chain with her teeth. With a firm grip on it, Kirara yanked on it, dragging Gojyo closer as she did so.

Gojyo cursed only once before making the chain retract. As it returned with such force and speed, Kirara couldn't keep hold of it, and as the crescent moon made its way to her jaws, it didn't pay her mouth any thought as it ripped through it like butter.

"Damn." Kagome commented after having witnessed Kirara's maiming. "You don't mess around, Waist."

Gojyo threw her a scalding smile, but before he could come up with a snappy comment, his attention was brought back to the battle at hand as the cat roared. He turned back just in time to see a funnel of hell fire make its way toward them.

Kagome smiled as the fire approached. She knew the boys would scatter to avoid it, and when they did so, they wouldn't have time to stop her as she attacked. She had her eye on a dark object at Kirara's feet. But as the flames reached them, someone grabbed her and pulled her along with them.

She pushed against them as the flames passed them, trying to get free.

"What are you doing?" Gojyo yelled as he held onto her tighter.

"I'm trying to fight the cat demon, what are _you_ doing?"

"Apparently I'm trying to keep you alive!" he shot back.

"Alive? I can't _die_ you idiot! So let me go so I can kill Kirara!"

"Hey, I know you can't die, but maybe I don't enjoy seeing…_women_ getting _maimed_ just because they can ignore pain!"

"What?" she asked seriously as she stopped struggling. "You don't want to see me get hurt?"

"Duh! None of us do, idiot!"

"Oh." She said in wonderment. "Well then help me get close to her."

"Okay." He agreed roughly as he let her go and took a firm hold of his Shakujo. "Why?"

"I think you knocked a fang out, and if I can get to it, then I'll have a weapon and my babysitters can stop worrying."

He shot her a look but didn't comment. "Fine. _I'll_ lead."

"I thought you would." She muttered under her breath as they took off running, with Gojyo valiantly in front of her, leading her towards certain danger.

Not knowing what the two were up, Sanzo and Hakkai kept Kirara from making an outright attack on the two, while Goku found it appropriate to join them.

"What are you doing?" Goku asked as he raced alongside them.

"Ask her." Gojyo snapped.

Kagome merely smiled at him.

"Jump!" Gojyo yelled as he reached behind him, grabbed Kagome's hand, and leapt to the left as a funnel of fire was directed right at them.

They didn't stop their trek though, which Kagome was thankful for. As they got within range of another blow, Gojyo aimed at Kirara and had the chain wrapped around her throat before she could understand what was happening. With her attention on Gojyo Kagome looked to Goku.

"Hey!" she yelled to get his attention. When he looked she made a basket gesture with her hand. Hoping he got it, she ran towards him, and luckily he knew what she meant, for when she leapt at him, he had his hands ready and cupped for her foot. As her foot made contact with his hands, he tossed her into the air, aiming for the unguarded side of Kirara.

As she landed Kagome realized that Gojyo was struggling to maintain a hold on the demon kitty. Picking up the pace, Kagome reached Kirara just as Gojyo was sent sprawling through the air as Kirara grabbed hold of the chain and yanked. As she turned to face her with a ferocious growl, Kagome fell to the ground and slid along it until she had grabbed hold of the object of her attention, Kirara's fang, but as she grabbed it, she ended up right under Kirara's nose, and with no Gojyo to maintain her attention; the demon cat had a clear shot for a kill.

"Ooh!" she murmured just as Kirara threw up a paw to claw her face. Kagome ducked out of the way but her arm, which she used to block, was massacred, and as she cried out in surprise, Goku was suddenly there to the rescue.

"No, you can't fight her!" Kagome had started to say, but stopped as Goku flipped out and beat Kirara back. His staff was nothing but a blur as he angrily beat Kirara back and away from the fallen

Kagome.

"Whoa!" she muttered as Gojyo was suddenly there to help her up. "Kid's hardcore."

"You got that tooth you wanted so badly?" Gojyo asked her as he brandished his own weapon.

"Yeah." she answered him, raising her undamaged arm to show him the foot long fang in her hand.

"Good. Now let's see if it was worth it." As he took a step to help Goku, he glanced at her and did a double take.

"What?" she asked, catching the look.

"You look kind of hot right now." he commented with a grin.

"So blood and dirt turns you on?" she asked incredulously.

"At the moment, yeah. You look like a…" but before he could finish, he was suddenly bowled over by a train of black fur and evil.

Kagome stood immobile for a second after the attack. "I think that was funny. _Oh, you're kind of hot right now_, and then, _OH NO! Giant cat demon_! That was great!" She laughed heartily.

She had to hand it to him; the guy knew how to fend off a vicious cat demon. Flat on his back, Gojyo used his staff to keep Kirara's jaws from clamping down on his pretty face. Kagome looked around for a second and saw Goku picking himself off the ground from where Kirara had barreled past him, and on the other side of the battlefield she saw Sanzo and Hakkai running towards them. It was up to her to save Gojyo. And so gripping Kirara's fang in her hand, she let out a warrior's yell and tackled Kirara off of Waist.

She was successful at getting Gojyo free, but the problem came soon after. She felt like a weasel as she maneuvered around Kirara's claws and jaws. When she would jab at her with her fang, Kirara would double back with two swipes, forcing Kagome into awkward dodging positions. An opportunity arose as Kirara reared up onto her hind legs. Not willing to waste the open shot, Kagome kicked out and connected with Kirara's head, sending the big cat falling onto her back. With Kirara down, Kagome leapt at her like a Spartan warrior. As they wrestled on the ground, Kagome suddenly found herself mounted onto Kirara's back as she kicked and bucked, trying to dislodge the girl from her perch. Kagome held on tight, but found holding on was much easier once she lodged the fang at the base of the demon's skull.

"You make me do this!" Kagome yelled as she tried to make herself throw up again.

"What are you doing?" She heard Sanzo's angry voice ask. "Are you trying to throw up on it??

"Sort of." She answered.

"Well unless you puke acid, I don't see a point to it! Get down!"

Wanting to do anything but comply with his demand, Kagome was thrown to the ground by a particularly violent buck from Kirara where the big cat was soon fired upon by both Sanzo and Hakkai.

After the barrage of bullets and ki ceased to be, Kagome stood up and brushed the dirt from her body. As she was doing so, she froze as something brushed by her cheek, leaving fire in its tracks.

Sighing, and ignoring the blood running down her face, Kagome looked at Sanzo accusingly.

"What?" he shrugged. "It moved."

"What is that thing?" Gojyo asked.

"Her name's Kirara." She answered as she strolled over to inspect the damage. "And she's a fire cat demon."

"You've run into her before?" Hakkai asked, catching the familiarity in her voice.

"Oh yes. Apparently when I wished my friends back, I also resurrected Kirara here."

"_That's_ what your _friends_ are like _now_?" Goku asked, just as the undead Kirara made her status known.

As the demon loomed over her, Kagome had to ask herself what she was doing. She knew damn well that Kirara wasn't dead, so why had she gotten close to the beast without retrieving the Shikon no Tama first. All this went through her head before Kirara clamped her jaws around her torso and shook her like a dog toy.

Beating at Kirara's head, Kagome saw the boys' faces at the sudden attack. Surprised and horrified. She saw Sanzo and Hakkai hesitate, and she saw as Goku attacked with his staff. When it connected with Kirara's head, Kagome winced as it caused the jaws to clench tighter around her middle.

"Sanzo, do something!" Goku yelled desperately.

"I would shoot her and put her out of her misery, but she _won't_ die!"

Just as he finished saying it, Kirara, with a violent jerk of her head, swallowed Kagome whole.

"Well now, I guess it doesn't matter." Sanzo said after an awkward and appalled silence had passed. And with that said, they opened fire on the demon as she turned, growled, and shot into the air with her prize.

"Oh no you don't!" Gojyo growled as he attacked, making the chain of his Shakujo encircle Kirara's neck and halting the demon's flight.

Though Kirara's strength made him slide across the ground, Gojyo's firm hold on her kept her from getting away from the barrage of shots she was undergoing. Weakening under the shots, it wasn't until Goku was suddenly above her that she fell to the earth. With a blow that would have shattered a diamond, Goku brought his staff down on Kirara and sent the demon down.

Once she was down, the boys would have made further mince meat of her if she hadn't have been overcome with violent convulsions. Howling death, Kirara twisted, flipped, and twitched around. It wasn't until she began vomiting blood that the boys decided to just stand and watch the horrific scene unfold.

"This is kind of cool." Goku said after a moment of awe, but as the cat flipped over onto her back and screeched bloody-murder as her belly was split open to reveal a grasping hand, he changed his mind.

The arm was soon followed by a shoulder, and with one violent explosion and blood and gore, Kagome emerged from the squirming belly of the beast with a rib bone in hand and looking demonic.

"I HATE BEING EATEN ALIVE!" she screamed into the air as she tossed the bone down and viciously ripped the fang from Kirara's back. The boys expected her to go nuts on the injured cat, but they weren't prepared for Kagome to turn the tooth on herself and slice her own belly open. But when she plunged a hand inside her new wound, they turned away in disgust.

With their heads turned, they missed the attack that stopped Kagome's digging. The giant boomerang came from nowhere and beat Kagome to the ground with a sickening thud. She had just gotten the Shikon no Tama in her hand when she felt her skull fracture. She wasn't sure how long she lay sprawled on the ground before she felt Sango's presence. She had known all along that Sango was near, but now that she was so close, she felt she could only stare in awe as her best friend stood over her, a cold face void of emotion, with Hiraikotsu nestled securely in her hand.

As Sango looked from Kagome to Kirara, her eyes hardened with hatred.

"Were you trying to kill Kirara?" Sango asked with a voice as cold as her eyes.

Kagome said nothing as Sango's face contorted and the blackness overtook her features. Kicking out with her foot, she caught Kagome in her chin, knocking the girl onto her back. Raising her weapon, Sango planted her foot on Kagome's neck and sneered at her.

"Why must you take everything away from me? You have always been the bane of my existence." she whispered heatedly as she leaned in close. "I always hated you. At times, I hated you as much as I did Naraku."

Kagome felt her heart plummet and could do nothing but watch as the boomerang came barreling down at her, and then she knew no more as her skull was crushed.

* * *

"I think I'm tired of blacking out." was the first thing Kagome said as she came to. She wasn't sure if anyone heard her over the roar of wind, but she knew she didn't care.

As she came to, Kagome sat up right and remained as silent as if she hadn't been unconscious from a head wound. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but from the angle of the sun and the smell of the baked on gore residing all over her body, she guessed that too much had passed. At least someone had tried to clean her face, she noticed after glancing into the rearview mirror.

"Am I still kind of hot?" Kagome asked Gojyo lowly, trying to lighten the gloomy mood of the vehicle.

"Yeah" Goku answered immediately.

"Sure, why not?" Gojyo offered up simultaneously.

"I'm sure you still taste fine." Hakkai commented with a serious face.

Her lip twitched as she tried to absorb their humor, but it failed to penetrate her cloud of misery. Sango had hated her.

Miroku had been in love with her and Sango, her sister, had hated her.

She took a shaky breath.

If she was going to learn a horrific truth every time she fought one of her friends, she felt that facing Death in one of his bitch moods would be a better way to spend eternity. Don't steal from me, blah, blah, quit ruining people's lives, blab, blab, blab, I'm going to make you crazy if you don't do as I say. Yahda, yahda, blah, blah. She heard it all before, so how bad could it be compared to the other option. She could only shudder at the thought of what she would discover from Shippo and Inuyasha. Inuyasha not so much. That hanyou had always said what was on his mind…no he didn't. Oh, she shuddered at what he would reveal, and she laughed at the gentle memory of him. Grumpy, loud, and not thinking about what he said before he said it.

With the thought of her beloved hanyou to lighten her heart, Kagome flew from the back of the jeep before anyone could catch her and landed on the ground as she began to run along side them. The boys, startled at first, paid her no mind as she kept pace with the jeep.

"Want to talk about it?"

After having zoned out, Kagome was startled to hear someone talk to her. Turning to face the speaker, she met the sincere and understanding face of Hakkai.

"Not really." she answered after a second's pause.

"You sure?"

"Want to see me throw myself in front of that jeep?"

"Not really."

"Well there you go?"

Tuning him out, Kagome missed the smile that played on his lips. She paid him no more attention until the jeep revved up and drew ahead of her. Glancing at him, she saw the smile as he purposely kept his eyes ahead. She picked up the pace and drew level with him again, but his lips twitched and he drew ahead again. Keeping a suspicious eye on him, she ran ahead, but when she caught his eye and he smiled, her heart soared with delight when she realized he was doing it on purpose. Throwing her head back and laughing aloud she raced the jeep across the desert and into horizon.

She ran until the desert ended and the sand became grass. After slipping and falling on the new terrain she decided to ride along with the boys.

Intent on finding a town to rest, they were thrilled to find a well worn path. The path led them to a mountain range where it wound around it in a spiral. They were making good time, and by sunset they were in site of a village nestled at the top of the mountain. It looked like a nice place, and even held its own temple at the back of town, but before they entered it, Hakkai stopped the jeep a good distance away. Simultaneously they all turned and stared silently at Kagome.

Smiling sweetly, Hakkai got out and went around to the trunk.

"What?" she asked them confused and unnerved by the silent treatment.

"No offense, but…you're not exactly fresh." Gojyo told her with a shake of his hand.

Kagome glanced down at her body and sniffed herself. "So…the dirt and blood not working for you?"

"Not at all." Sanzo added.

"What…you want to part ways now?"

"You really think we'd abandon you just because of a little gore?" Goku asked.

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"Cover it up and fake illness." Hakkai told her as he tossed a hooded robe at her.

"It's huge."

"It's Gojyo's." Hakkai told her as he got behind the wheel.

"Try not to get any blood on it." Gojyo told her grudgingly, not exactly ecstatic at the thought of a blood soaked woman wrapped in his cloak.

* * *

Upon entering the little village, the group was immediately hinted at the thought of wrongness about the village. They found themselves traveling slowly and quietly through the village as one-by one the villagers turned to face them or exited buildings to stare at them. But the creepiness was the fact that after they passed, the people acted as if they never saw them and went back to their business…all was done with a smile.

"These people smell weird." Kagome commented from the depths of the cloak.

"What do they smell like?" Goku whispered.

"They have one unified smell. They smell like one another."

"Like inbreeds." Sanzo asked just as quietly.

"No. It's just weird."

The quiet returned to the jeep as they headed towards what looked like an Inn. And as they approached, the owner, or maybe someone who just worked there exited the building next to the Inn, smiling

and cleaning a mug.

"Come on over here." The plump lady yelled with a smile. "They're full, but we have some rooms for you."

Smiling broadly the woman waved them over and returned to the building.

"Well…that's more than just a bit creepy." Gojyo commented as Hakkai turned the jeep around.

As they parked and got out, Gojyo was suddenly there to force the cloak around her so that it covered all of her and threw an arm around her shoulder that made her stoop over.

"What the hell are you doing?" she whispered.

"You're pretending to be sick, remember?" he whispered back as he supposedly supported her into the inn.

"Don't get any ideas, Gojyo." Goku semi-threatened him as he walked behind them.

"Now, that's getting annoying. What did you do to the kid?"

"Nothing." Kagome shrugged. "I guess I'm just charming."

"You wish." He laughed as they made it to the front desk.

"You kids just staying the night?" the old man behind the counter asked with a smile.

"Yes." Hakkai confirmed. "Just the night and we'll be needing two rooms."

"Yeah, one for them, and one for me and my wife." Gojyo suddenly exclaimed loudly as he grasped Kagome's shoulder lovingly. Behind them, Sanzo slapped Goku in the head as he began to protest.

"Your wife?" the man questioned with a knowing smile. "Of course you'll be needed two rooms." Smiling the man directed his gaze at the cloaked Kagome, and after a second glance his face became

strained.

"Ma'am?" he asked cautiously. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." Kagome told him, but after a nudge from Gojyo she coughed and made her voice sound gruff. "Just a little sick."

The man jumped when he heard her speak and tried to peer around the hood.

"Is there someone who can show us to our rooms?" Hakkai asked, trying to distract the man from his scrutiny.

"Yes of course." The man answered after visibly shaking himself, and after the words were out his mouth, a young girl had bounded into the room, yet her eyes went immediately to Kagome's cloaked figure.

"Dad?" she called out nervously.

"Just be quick about it." the man quickly replied as he tossed her two keys.

"Okay." She whispered fearfully. "Your rooms are this way, follow me." Trying not to look at Kagome anymore, the girl turned and practically raced up the stairs, but she halted suddenly to slow her pace. "Sorry." she muttered without turning around.

They followed the girl up a flight of stairs and down on a dark hall. When she finally stopped she turned to them with a pale face and tried her hardest to not look at Kagome.

"These are your rooms." she spoke up pointing to two rooms across the hall from one another. "This one is for…the couple. And this one is for the rest."

"Thank you." Hakkai told her gently as she handed them their respected keys.

"Do you need anything else?" she asked and when he answered no, she hurried away and out of sight.

"I don't think she likes you." Gojyo commented as he opened the door to his and Kagome's room, followed by the rest. Inside they found a large bed a small sofa and two nondescript doors. There were no windows and one large rounded table in the middle of the room with four chairs surrounding it.

"Yeah." Kagome answered with a yawn as she stepped out of the robe and stretched when the door was closed. "I have that affect on people."

"Not me." Goku piped in.

"That's because you're strange." she replied in a patronizing voice as he pinched his cheek, leaving a bloodied streak in her absence.

"He's not the only one." Sanzo muttered.

Ignoring the comment, Kagome wondered over to a side door and opened it. Inside she found the bathroom and a rush of nausea hit her as she realized she was covered in matted fur and blood.

"Hey, darling _husband_." she called out, only faltering over the word 'husband' a little. "Why don't you be a dear and buy me some new clothes?"

"Who do you think you are?"

"Your wife apparently. This was your idea, I'm covered in mud and blood, and I'm about to bathe and I need clothes."

"I'll get them for you, Kagome!" Goku announced as he bounded to his feet.

"I'll accompany you," Hakkai told him as he headed for the door. "I need to pick up supper."

"Guess I'll go too." Gojyo sighed as he began to follow them. "What do you want anyway? A dress? Pants and a blouse?"

"Something along the lines of that last one. Oh, and I would really appreciate some underwear."

The three men paused in the doorway. "You mean….you…haven't been wearing any…underwear?" Gojyo inquired slowly.

"No." she answered him just as slowly. "Fire burns…and I have never owned any fireproof…undergarments."

As she said this, three pairs of eyes flashed over her before looking into the air.

"Would you get out of here?" Sanzo snapped at their blushing faces, making them snap to and out the door.

Glancing down at her filthy skin, Kagome shuddered. Sighing aloud, she picked up Gojyo's robe and smiled. "Guess I'll wash this too."

Snorting around his cigarette, Sanzo stood to leave. "Well _I _guess I'll leave you to it then."

"You don't have to leave." she called out over her shoulder as she opened the bathroom door.

"I know I don't have to, but I don't want to be in here. I'm tired."

"Please?" she asked a little desperately despite herself.

Sanzo stopped and looked languidly at her.

"Just so I know someone's here with me." she answered lowly after a second's pause.

Sanzo sighed as he sat back down. "What is it with you?"

Kagome sighed with a saddened smile. "I'm tired too."

Sanzo grunted as he tried to get comfortable on the sofa. "If I'm sleep when you come out. Let met be."

"I'll let you be anything you want to be." she laughed as she entered the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Deciding to tackle the robe before her body, Kagome placed it into the sink and turned on the water.

As she added soap and scrubbed the garment under the hot water, she glanced upward and caught her reflection's eye. She faulted at the sight of its smiling face, but as she looked on the smile went away, leaving only the crazed eyes in its place. Clenching the side of the sink tightly so as not to smash the glass, Kagome made herself look away and focus back on the job at hand. Just because her reflection had the eyes of a demon, didn't mean they belonged to her. She wouldn't let it bother her. Her reflection was not going to get to her. She wasn't that crazy anymore. She was better! Her eyes weren't the overly bright ones she saw in her reflection! Not the bottomless chasms of madness and rage that stared back at her! No! They didn't belong to her! That wasn't her! That wasn't who she was!

The taste of blood made her stop her scrubbing as she realized she had been gnawing through her lip, and the robe in her hand was cleaned and she had been scrubbing the fabric thin. She glanced back up as the blood ran down her chin and was pleased to see that the heat from the water had steamed the mirror. Smiling she looked down at her hands and saw that though they were now only red from the heat of the water, they were clean.

Her lips quirked…

* * *

"Honey, we're home!" Gojyo called out as he burst into the room, soon followed by Hakkai and Goku.

"Kagome! I'm back!" Goku called out as he pushed himself in front of Gojyo with a big smile on his face, but as he saw only Sanzo asleep on the couch and no Kagome, he frowned.

"Where's Kagome?"

"Scrubbing the blood from the tub." Sanzo answered him grumpily, annoyed that they had arrived back so noisily.

"Oh. Well I guess I better go take these to her." Smiling creepily with his deeper, and creepier, predatory voice, Goku turned on his heel and man handled the bags from Gojyo's grip and headed for

the bathroom door.

"NO!" Sanzo snapped. "You're going to sit down here and wait for her to come out."

Goku was silent a moment as he considered the command, and with his eyes dark and hungry he complied and sat down on the couch next to Sango directly in front of the bathroom door with his eyes never leaving it. "I'll be glad to do that too."

"_Who are you_?" Sanzo grumbled at the odd behavior his ward was demonstrating.

Kagome then took the opportunity to arrive; leaving the bathroom looking clean and wrapped in Gojyo's robe to hide her body. Closing the door behind her, she suddenly found Goku invading her personal space and smiling.

"Hey." She told him with a small smile.

"I picked this out for you to wear. I hope you like it."

Taking the brown bag from his hand she gave him a squeeze to the shoulder. "I'm sure it's fine." She told him as she made her escape back into the bathroom.

Ignoring Goku, who hadn't moved since Kagome closed the door, the others went ahead on passing out the food and making themselves comfortable.

"So…" Gojyo stated after a moment's silence. "Has anyone read any good books lately?"

To which his response were confounded stares from all three of his companions. HE shrugged and went back to fussing with his food.

"Just trying to start a conversation."

"Leave it to people with brains." Sanzo muttered ignoring the scowl Gojyo sent him.

"Well I guess we can talk about the odd behavior of the villagers." Hakkai offered.

"Yeah, that's right." Goku suddenly chimed in animatedly as he came to join the group at the table. "These people are weird."

"What makes you say that?" Sanzo asked before stuffing his mouth with a big bite of food.

"They don't talk to each other." Gojyo offered up.

"I try not to talk to you, but that doesn't make me weird."

"Only in your eyes." Kagome answered as she left the bathroom in a simple blue dress, brown loafers, and matching ribbon in her hair.

"You clean up well." Gojyo commented with a tip of his head.

"You can say the same for your robe." Kagome retorted as she tossed his robe to him. "Thanks for the use, Waist."

"And thanks for the clothes." She continued with a genuine smile with her eyes lowered so as to add to her humble appearance. "I feel so grounded in it for some reason. You don't know how good

that makes me feel."

"I'm pleased that you like them, and I must say…you do look beautiful." Hakkai told her. "In more ways than just your appearance too."

"Hey!" Goku snapped. "Back off! _I_ picked them out!"

"And I appreciate it." Kagome told him as she kissed him atop his head. The kiss made him smile goofily and blush fiercely, but as she approached Hakkai, his smile diminished.

"And I appreciate your comment too." She said as she gave him a hug from behind. It could have been his imagination, but Goku could have sworn he saw Hakkai send him a triumphant glance.

"And," she continued as she sat on the table, in the spot between Hakkai and Sanzo. "I feel so refreshed and wonderful with underwear on again."

"Way to ruin the moment." Sanzo muttered, not bothering to look at her.

"Were we having a moment, Gramps?" Kagome asked him teasingly.

"Only in your eyes." He retorted.

"Does papa want a kiss?" she asked him as she pursed her lips down at him. Her picking was put to a halt as a hand gently clasped her wrist.

Turning toward the offender she smiled as Hakkai handed her a box of food.

Enjoying the silence, Sanzo eventually had to bring up the subject he knew would cause a ruckus.

"So who's sleeping where and with whom?" which actually meant 'Who would be sharing the room with Kagome?'

Goku had an immediate answer. "Me and Kagome can…"

"No." Sanzo said abruptly and with finality.

"But…"

"No." not bothering to look the pouting boy's way, Sanzo turned to face the other occupants of the table. Kagome in the meanwhile was happily eating and watching the show.

"No." Sanzo commented as his eyes fell onto Gojyo, who merely shrugged mid bite.

"I flat-out refuse." he continued as his eyes finally settled on Hakkai. "What say you?"

"NO!" Goku barked with a vengeance but was ignored.

Hakkai and Kagome stared at one another, waiting to see the other's response.

"You're the only one left." Sanzo told him. "The monkey's strange and the kappa's a tramp."

"Is that the language a monk uses?" Kagome asked as she turned back to face the monk, but she too was ignored.

"It's alright with me." Hakkai answered carefully. "But it depends on Kagome."

The silence that followed let Kagome know that they were waiting for her answer. She chewed her food slowly as she thought, her head facing the bed.

"I can sleep on the couch and they can sha…"

"No." the boys all answered simultaneously.

"Oh." looking back at Hakkai she was pleased to find him not looking at her. "Well I guess you got yourself a bedmate for tonight."

Looking up at her, Hakkai gave her a small smile as he placed one hand over his heart and held the other in the air. "I promise…I shall be the perfect gentleman."

As he finished pronouncing his status, Kagome thought of the kind of gentleman that Kouga was in bed and couldn't help the laugh that escaped her mouth, nor the twinge in her heart.

"What's so funny?" Goku asked her.

"Life." she replied before stuffing her mouth and ending the conversation.


	14. Chp 13

**

* * *

Chp 13 Misery

* * *

  
**

Hakkai kept his word. He was the perfect gentleman. He even slept upside down with his head at the foot of the bed to avoid awkward positions. Yet, it wasn't fear of molestation that kept Kagome awoke that night.

With recent events and revelations, Kagome wasn't surprised to find herself awake into the late hours of the night, though it didn't help to have people stalking outside their room all night. She lay quietly in bed and watched the shadows that appeared under the door. They came in sessions; sometimes in large groups and sometimes solo. It began a while after Hakkai had fallen asleep and continued into the late hours of the night. The shadows never spoke and the only reason she knew they were there was because of the creaking floor boards.

Slipping from under the covers, Kagome got out of bed and padded softly to the door. The shadows were still there and hadn't heard, or cared about, her getting out of bed. Trying to be as discreet as possible, Kagome grabbed the door handle and turned the knob. She waited a moment to gauge whether they heard her or not, and when they made no move to leave, she snatched it open and gave the snoopers a deadpan stare.

It was the lady who had called them over and the man from behind the desk. By looking at them, Kagome placed them as husband and wife in her head, and as she stared she saw that they were surprised by her sudden appearance and were looking embarrassed.

"Oh." the lady called out in fright. "We…were just…uh, patrolling the uh…halls?"

Kagome continued to stare at them.

"We always do it. Make sure the…_guests_, are not in need of any help."

"Are you a zombie?" the husband interrupted with an anxious whisper.

"Harold!" the wife reprimanded him.

"You get many zombie patrons?" Kagome asked without humor. "Causing you problems, are they?"

"No, no." the husband answered her hurriedly. "It's just that you…um, _we can't_…or don't…uh."

"What he's trying to say is; we can never be too cautious. We think we had a vampire the other evening."

"You're lying." Kagome told her through narrowed eyes.

"Yes I am." the woman answered her immediately. "About the vampire, but not about being cautious. We just need to know."

Kagome was silent a moment before thrusting her hand out into their faces. They jumped back as she did so, but she stood still and ignored the movement.

"Check my wrist. Last I checked I had a pulse."

The couple glanced at each other nervously before the wife placed her middle and forefinger across Kagome's exposed wrist. After a few seconds she glanced to her husband and an unseen communication went through the two.

"Okay. Sorry to bother you ma'am." the husband told her as he draped an arm around his wife and hurried away.

"They didn't seem too reassured with your living status." a voice spoke up from behind her.

"Hell, neither am I." glancing across the hall, Kagome saw the door to the boys room's cracked with two heads sticking out of it.

"What was that all about?" Gojyo asked her sleepily.

"Just the second time I've been accused of being a zombie, that's all."

"Is he shirtless?" Goku asked suddenly looking past her shoulder.

"Goodnight boys." Kagome called out as she closed the door.

Turning around she came face to naked chest with a half sleep Hakkai. She tried taking a step back but the door wouldn't let her go anywhere. Hakkai, yawning and stretching, didn't move.

"Did they knock just to ask you if were a zombie?" he asked her.

"No." she answered him, looking off into empty space. "They were snooping around the door all night, so I confronted them."

"These are truly a strange people."

Kagome turned back to stare at Hakkai. After making eye contact and holding it, she placed her hand on his chest and pushed.

"I'm going to sleep." she told him as she walked passed.

"Of course." Hakkai said as he stood silent by the door as Kagome got back into bed.

* * *

Kagome awoke with laughter on her lips. It wasn't the laugh of madness that she and those associated with her were accustomed to. It was the pure and genuine laughter of a girl turning over in her sleep and finding a foot in her face.

Her laughter also woke Hakkai, and when his horribly bed ridden head of hair popped from under the covers and stared around confusedly, Kagome laughed the harder. And so with a light spirit she started her day.

She was just putting on her shoes when the door slammed open to reveal a very energized and suspicious looking Goku.

"Good morning Kagome!" he said pleasantly, but as he entered the room his eyes roamed around it for evidence of something only his mind would decipher. "Where's Hakkai? Did he touch you? Do I need to do something?"

"He's in the shower." she answered him. "Were you this creepy when I met you?"

"No. This is new to all of us." Sanzo said as he pushed his way past Goku to sit on the couch.

"Hey!" Gojyo blurted as he too entered their room and shut the door behind him. "What was with that meeting in the hall?"

With an attentive Goku sitting next to her, Kagome smiled up at Gojyo. "They were asking whether I was a zombie or not."

"Oh." Goku murmured. "Now I get that zombie thing."

"And here we just thought you were crazy." Gojyo added unnecessarily, while Sanzo nodded in agreement.

"You're just jealous because my hair is better than yours." Kagome retorted.

"No it's not."

"Damn, you're probably right."

"Trust me, I am."

"_Anyway_, what's on the agenda today pops?"

"I can just smack you." Sanzo muttered under his breath, not bothering to look at her.

"Well I can kiss you too, but I think Goku would explode." to prove her point, she turned to glance back at Goku and saw him looking distress. "Don't worry; you're way cuter than that old grumpy geezer." Delivering a kiss to the boy's cheek, she effectively relieved him of his stress and eased his tension.

"Hakkai!" Sanzo yelled angrily. "Hurry up so we can get the hell out of here?"

As Kagome was busy laughing at Sanzo's expense, Hakkai exited the bathroom, fully dressed and towel drying his hair.

"Why do you suppose they think you're a zombie?" Hakkai asked as he tossed the damp towel onto the bed.

"That's right, we were talking about that?" Goku exclaimed, to which Sanzo snorted something incomprehensible.

"I guess they just sensed the death that constantly surrounds my life and soul."

"That's a bit morbid for so early in the morning, don't you think?" Gojyo suggested.

"Just calling them like I see them, Waist."

"You're kind of twisted for a girl."

"You're a tramp."

"Your dad!"

"Children!" Sanzo snapped at them, and then more quietly to Hakkai, "Let's get the hell out of here."

* * *

As Sanzo and Hakkai were busy taking care of the room fees, Gojyo, Kagome, and Goku wandered outside. The three were stretching and enjoying the warmth of the sun, ignoring the way most eyes were trained on Kagome and the wide berth they were giving her.

"Today…feels like it's going to be a good day."

"Why do you say that?" Goku asked her.

"Have no idea!" she answered him truthfully as she snatched him into a hug. "It just feels good."

"Yes it does." Goku mumbled from the depths of her hug.

"Hey what's going on over there?" Gojyo called out, ignoring them as he stared down the road.

Releasing the young man from his euphoric hug, Kagome looked the way Gojyo was staring and saw a commotion heading their way.

Whatever it was, it was huge. She saw things rise and fall, there were large masses of figures and it was moving at a steady speed. As it approached, more and more of the villagers came out onto the street until there was a large crowd surrounding them.

Confused, Kagome didn't notice the music until she felt her body moving, and with excitement she jumped into the air.

"It's a parade, Waist!" she yelled over the noise as the parade finally arrived in their area.

Now that they could tell what it was, they saw that the parade wasn't much of a parade at all. If it was to be called one, it would be a mangy parade.

The participants weren't really matching; most of the horses were work horses and were very slow and tired; the decorations consisted of what was clearly very colorful clothes draped around the carts and animals. The performances were poor and clumsy; looking as if they were just thrown together.

"This is sad." Gojyo grimaced.

"You can say that again." Goku commented.

When the two looked to Kagome for confirmation, they found her bobbing and swaying to the semi-nonexistent music.

"The hell is you doing? This parade sucks."

But by this time the parade had advanced to the point where the only organized section had their attention. It was a group of what looked like temple guards who were pulverizing drums with a quick tempo beat which the remaining guards were marching to with young maidens and temple boys dancing amongst them.

The beat and sporadic movement, Kagome thought, was infectious and she soon was giddy with excitement to be just like them.

"Dance with me!" she called out as she spun on her heel and clasped Gojyo's hand.

Goyjo didn't know what to say as Kagome tried to drag him amongst the parade dancers.

"Come on." She urged him as she forced him to take a step closer.

"I don't think we're allowed to dance with them." Goku said, for once more embarrassed about being a part of the debacle of a parade than jealous about Kagome's attention.

Sane enough to recognize Gojyo's discomfort, and care about it, Kagome released the grateful man with a pout. Once she had let him go, a pair of strong hands clasped her around the middle and lifted her into the air with a flourish as she was brought into the celebration by the temple dancers.

Laughing with delight, Kagome joined right in once she was put down and twirled and danced with a mixed variety of partners. Amongst the dancers, the drums sounded louder and beat her body into sync with it. The captivating rhythm seemed to flow through her veins until her life was nothing but a haze of drum beats and colors.

"Kagome!"

The sound of her name snapped her out of the state of dancing bliss she inhabited. The call originated from the crowd, on the opposite side of that which Goku and Gojyo stood. It only took her a moment to realize that she had heard the voice before. It was the voice that belonged to the caller in the desert. The voice that didn't belong to her friends…but was of an otherness like 'Death'. It was the voice of the hunter. Someone that wanted her…and she wanted to meet them.

She tried to escape the throng of dancers but they kept on dancing and pushed her along. She called for help, but the drums smothered her voice. She hopped into the air waving her hands, hoping someone of the Sanzo-party would come to her aid, but as she hopped, the dancers hoisted her higher and spun her before plopping her back down.

As the parade got further along, she was assaulted by two burly temple guards who held her in the air by her arms. And as the parade got further along; it began to dissipate. The crowd, which had grown out of proportion, began to return to their homes, sending glances her way, the participants of the mangy parade began to thin out as they all headed in different directions. It wasn't until they were the only two left on the street that Gojyo and Goku looked at each other.

"Uhh…hm." Gojyo murmured in confusion.

"Come on, let's go." Sanzo grumbled as he and Hakkai joined them on the street.

"Where's Kagome?" Hakkai was the first to ask as he looked around the empty street. Behind them, the innkeepers shut and locked their door.

"Um…yeah." Gojyo answered slowly through the haze of confusion and shock. "I think…a parade just kidnapped her."

"What?" Sanzo asked with a growl.

"Yeah." Goku added just as slowly. "They…just…stole her."

* * *

Being hijacked by a parade made Kagome forget about the hunter in the crowd. As she was hauled through alleys and back roads, she remained just as silent as her two captors. It wasn't until they started going up eighty-thousands, she counted, steps did she figure out where they were going.

"Well duh." She berated herself, making the guardsmen flinch. "Oh if that made you jump, just wait until we make eye contact."

They deposited her off at the top of the steps and quickly released her. And just as she suspected, they had brought her to the temple.

Waiting at the temple doors, a pleasant looking old man stood, but the eyes he laid on Kagome were of pure nervousness. With a quick nod from the man, the guards quickly departed, but not before whispering on how creepy she was, leaving her alone with the old man.

What followed was a moment of awkwardness for both Kagome and her captor.

"I can take you, you know." Kagome said just as the old man pronounced, "So it is true."

"What did you say?" they both asked simultaneously.

Kagome growled at him and the man jumped back in fright. "What the hell do you want, because I don't have time for creepy old men?"

"Please! I'm sorry, it's just that the town has been talking about you and I thought that…"

"What do you mean they've been talking about me? They've been avoiding me like the plague!"

"They're just afraid."

"How do they know to be?" she asked the man, making him flinch once she made eye contact.

"Please." The man begged as he opened the temple doors. "If you would just follow me, I'll explain everything."

Kagome made no move to follow him. She could leave now and he could do nothing to stop her. If he sent for the guards she would tear them down, and if the entire village stood in her way, she would bring them to their knees. She could do all this and leave with the Sanzo-party and never look back. Or she could follow the old man into the dark temple. He didn't smell malevolent, but he did reek of fear and confusion. But those who were scared and dumb could be the most vicious.

She smiled his way and his face became strained.

"Okay. Let's talk."

She followed him in and saw that the temple was windowless with only torches to light its innards. As the man began talking he lead her further into the temple.

"Our town is composed of telepaths."

"And?"

"Yes, well." The man stuttered, caught off guard by Kagome's aloofness to their special skills. "We, as telepaths, we communicate without the use of vocal language, and we maintain a peaceful and pleasant town by being able to weed out those visitors who would wish us, or others, harm."

"And no one can read me?" Kagome asked, jumping ahead to the problem.

"Yes. And…we've never encountered anyone such as you before. Only ones we cannot read are the dead and animals. And since you are supposedly neither, we fear that there may be others like you who are not as…"

"Nice?" she offered.

"In a way, yes."

"What makes you think I'm nice?"

"We don't. We figured, from what we've gotten from your companions, that no one knows your intentions. This is why we've brought you here. Here we hold the strongest of our people, the one from whom our powers are channeled."

"So that he can read me and let your minds at ease."

"If you would allow it." the man added quickly as he stopped by a set of wide open doors.

Kagome didn't acknowledge him as she looked into the room. At the one from whom all their powers were channeled. The supreme being of the town. The person whose power far surpassed their own.

"It's a child." She muttered as her eyes fell upon the bald child sitting at the end of the room.

She made after him before anyone could stop her. The guards, who she hadn't noticed, made a move to stop her, but with a wave from the old man they backed off.

"Yes, this is the old master." The man introduced as he hurried to catch up with her.

Up close Kagome saw that the boy, from whom all their powers were channeled, was trapped in a child's body, yet wrinkles and age clung to him. And when he looked up at her, she flinched at the depths of sadness and attrition that his eyes exposed.

"You poor creature." She muttered with sympathy. "Who gave you these powers?"

"The Butterfly Man." The old man answered her excitedly for the old master. "He came generations ago and granted the master these powers. And from him we developed our own powers. Ours barely compare to his, yet all those born of this village are gifted with a fraction of his power."

"And you want him…to see what's on my mind? Then what; he's going to tell you what makes me so unreadable?"

"No…he hasn't spoken in years. When he probes you, he'll know, and then _we'll _know."

The man seemed so happy and carefree about the situation, yet the old, young man was just as melancholy as always, yet he stretched his hand out for her to touch it.

As she stared at the hand, she didn't know what compelled her to touch him. Maybe it was the compatible loneliness that they both shared? Sympathy for the poor boy's soul? Or could it have been a morbid curiosity to see what the boy would see? Whatever the reason, she regretted it.

Upon contact with the old master's hand, her mind was opened to the entire town. She saw the boy's eyes change from his misery to hers. They widened in horror and sympathy, and then brimmed with tears. Yet, she also felt and heard the town's reaction. Fear, disgust, a cry of MONSTER!

The word hit her like a physical blow! She reeled back and away from his touch, but their words still burned in her ears.

Abomination! Devil! Shouldn't be around humans! Be gone! Monster! Murderer! Evil! Away! Leave! Witch! Demon! Death! Die! Get out! Leave us alone! Away from us!

"Get out of my head!" she screamed in agony over their accusations.

"You shouldn't be here!" the old man yelled in fear as he and the guards surrounded the young master.

Kagome barely heard him over the commotion going on in her head. She could barely hear herself think over the cacophony of voices from the villagers' and the past. The noise was so horrible and confusing that all she could set herself to do was get away from it. So she took off running.

What the hell was she thinking? She knew she shouldn't be around people. She should have just hunted Sango down when she had the chance and be done with it. She didn't need to rest. She didn't need to eat. She didn't have to act humane. She didn't need to pretend as if she was normal; like everyone else. She wasn't. She was a monster, and she didn't deserve to have companions. So she ran. She ran out the temple and practically flew down the long steps and into the town proper.

She ran as a desperate attempt to escape her misery. The terrible world that was her life. She cursed the heavens for her lack of tears. Oh how she wished she could cry. Cry to vent her anguish; to loosen her feelings. Without them her high emotions rubbed her raw. Creating friction, static electricity that just powered her to run faster. Run faster to escape the feelings she couldn't properly release.

With her energy building she let out a howl. A wolf's howl that held nothing of the joys of the hunt. Her howl was the howl of a wolf in pain. At one point she thought she heard her name being called. She figured she had either run across the Sanzo-party, or the voices in her head were still taunting her. She had thought that the farther away she got from the old master the sooner the voices would leave. Yet, they still plagued her, and so with a mighty yell of frustration she left the village and ventured onto the winding road that spiraled the mountain.

"Why the hell are we always chasing you?"

Risking a look back, Kagome was angered to find the Sanzo-Party in hot pursuit in the jeep. Gojyo and Goku were precariously perched in the back, looking as if they were ready to leap upon her if the need came.

"Kagome, stop! Tell us what happened!" Goku yelled desperately from behind her as she tried to outrun them, but Hakkai was only a heel's inch away from practically running her down.

"I'm tired of chasing you down!" Gojyo yelled angrily, brandishing his fist. "Get your dysfunctional ass in this jeep, now!"

"How the hell are you running so fast? We're almost going 80?" This came from Sanzo who was looking just as grumpy as always.

"Leave me alone!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"Make up your damn mind! First it's don't leave me alone, now it's leave me alone! Quit playing games!"

"Kagome, just talk to us!" Goku yelled.

Growling viciously, Kagome slowed down abruptly and forced the jeep to hit her. As she rolled on top of the jeep, she shot to her feet and stood threateningly over them while giving off the fiercest look she could muster.

Considering her state, she figured it was enough when they shut up and sat back in their seats.

"Those eyes." Hakkai muttered breathily as he found he couldn't look away from the terrifying sight.

"Why won't you leave me alone? Can't you take a hint? I don't want to be around you freaks!" Using as much force as she could, Kagome kicked out with her foot and nailed Hakkai in the side of the head, and just because he looked at her wrong, she punched Sanzo before leaping from the jeep and down the slanted and untamed side of the mountain.

As she ran, her nice, simple, blue dress, which had grounded her so much, became snagged and torn from the wild bushes and trees. Her brown loafers, which had made her so happy and genuine, were shit when it came to running down mountains, and they soon became filthy and ruined. Then her matching ribbon, which had made her feel so much like her old self and humble, was snatched from her head and lost to the forest. None of these mattered to her as she continued to run. Her destination; anywhere the Sanzo-party couldn't reach her.

She didn't consider their stubborn persistence.

"Do not make me chase you down this mountain?" Gojyo yelled unnecessarily as he did indeed chase her down the mountain.

She didn't even try to give him a warning as she snatched a log from the ground and hurled it at him all in one fluid motion and yet never hindering her run. He went down and came to a skidding stop like she had hoped, but Goku catapulted himself over his fallen comrade and kept up the pursuit.

"Just tell me what happened!" Goku yelled desperately, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"What's wrong?" he voiced after he saw that she wouldn't answer.

"I don't want you around!" she yelled as she stopped abruptly and threw her hand out, forcing Goku to clothesline himself along her arm. "Why can't you comprehend that?"

"Because something's wrong and you don't mean it!" Gojyo argued as he came from behind her and trapped her within his arms.

"Don't make me hurt you!" she threatened just as she threw her head back, colliding with Gojyo's nose and making him loosen his hold. When she gained her slack, she elbowed him in the ribs and used the distraction to grab his arm and toss him over her shoulder and onto the recuperating Goku.

She had to admit, that fighting the boys was using up some of the pent up emotions that her tears couldn't release, yet as her name was bellowed through her head, it only reawakened her rage and forced her to flee again.

She felt that she had finally lost the boys, yet it wasn't this feeling that forced her to stop. It was the drop-off that forced her to finally cease her plight. She had managed to stop a few feet from the cliff, and far below was a shallow stream that would surely kill the normal person if they so happened to fall from such a height.

As she was admiring the view, her ears were assaulted by the arrival of unwanted guest, and by the sound of it, all of them were there. She didn't even turn their way.

"Why?" she finally asked, as a silence passed between them. They were being quiet so as not to push her into leaping, while she had remained quiet so as to gauge their steps.

"Why?" she asked again. "WHY THE HELL WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Why do you want to be left alone?" Hakkai asked as he took a step towards her, but as he moved foreword, she moved closer to the cliff's edge, making the man stop in his tracks and back up. "Why all of a sudden?"

"You don't know me!" she muttered. "Everything I've told you is a lie!"

"We lie to each other all the time." Gojyo told her. "Now come back from the edge."

"I'm a terrible person."

"So is Sanzo."

"I've done terrible things! Awful things!"

"We've all made mistakes." Hakkai said.

"You don't know what I've done!" she yelled angrily. "I'm a monster! That whole damn village knows! Because of their Benjamin Button that got locked in that damn temple, that whole village saw me for the monster that I am! I'm not even human anymore! I've killed the humanity in me! I pretend…I _try _to pretend that I'm like others! I try, but the damn monster lurks beneath the surface! People see it in my eyes! That's why no one can look at me without flinching! I'm a demon in human clothing! I should be alone…but you bastards can't take a hint and leave me alone!"

"I don't think you're a monster." Goku coaxed her. "And even if you were one, why would we let you be alone?"

"Because…" she laughed bitterly as she stepped closer to the edge, with one of her heels no longer on the terrain. "…you don't know. No one alive does."

"I shoot her knee out and you grab her." Sanzo muttered aloud, not caring that Kagome could hear her.

"I don't deserve fri…"

"Lady Kagome!" a new voice called out. A voice she had heard in the crowd in the village. A voice that had called out her name in the desert. And a voice she thought she'd never hear again.

As Miroku stepped into view with a gentle smile upon his face, happiness, joy, and wonderment were not the emotions that Kagome felt at his appearance. Instead; pure dread and fear seized her heart and she stepped away from him and over the cliff's edge. The last thing the boys saw of her was her dread filled face and her desperately clasping hands as they searched for any form of leverage.

"Well, that didn't go the way I had planned." Miroku murmured as he watched the redheaded fellow fling his chain after the fallen Kagome. He knew he had been successful at it when the chain went taut and he skidded across the ground a few feet.

"Who the hell are you?" Sanzo asked the newcomer as they all watched Gojyo struggle to pull Kagome back up.

"I'm with her." Miroku told him briefly as Kagome finally surfaced. As he approached her she frightfully clung to Gojyo and stared at him with wide eyes.

"Kagome." He said gently as he knelt down next to her. "It's okay."

"Can you see him?" she whispered into Gojyo's ear.

"Yeah." He answered her softly as he gently stood up, sheltering her from the man that was causing her stress.

"Damn." She cursed fearfully. "Go away!"

"I can't do that." He whispered sadly. "I'm here because of you."

"I don't think she wants you around, pal." Gojyo told him as he gallantly escorted Kagome away from the man.

Miroku said nothing as he watched them pile into a jeep, the guys glaring him down while Kagome clung to her rescuer like a life support.

"See." Goku said as they pulled away. "I told you, you didn't mean any of that you said."

"Yeah," Kagome laughed feebly from Gojyo's chest. "I lie a lot."


	15. Chp 14

**Chp. 14 Burning**

* * *

With a shuddering breath, she stretched her aching body against the wall as the saline water washed over her again. With the arrival of the cold, briny water, she awakened from her miserable, yet comforting stupor. Her eyes, which were permanently red and puffy from constant abuse, sought out the darkness for her only refuge in her prison. It was hard to see through her straggly hair, yet she could move nothing but her hands.

She wasn't sure how long she had been there, in that dank and lonely confinement, hanging on the wall by nothing but her hands, her weight causing the shackles to chafe and gouge vicious wounds on her wrists. The shackles weren't so bad when the tide was in, at least then the water helped alleviate her, but when the water was low…

"Kagome." a soft voice called out, making her heart jump.

She knew where he was. He always started out in the same spot. The middle of her cell, on a large boulder surrounded by the water, and he would always be looking just as she remembered. His eyes would be smoldering when he looked at her and she ached to touch him.

He smiled as he acknowledged her and she began to fidget and strain against the shackles. "I love you, Kagome. We'll never be apart again."

She could barely see, she was imprisoned, her body ached, she couldn't feel anything but the pain in her wrists, and now she was staring at the evil, animated body of her dead mate and she could do nothing but laugh, and laugh, and laugh.

* * *

He had followed them. She felt him out there and she could do nothing about it.

The boys had driven to the other side of the mountain and had kept a steady pace before setting up for the night by the stream. While they were settling down for the evening, she entertained herself by stalking in front of the line of trees that housed her former monk friend.

"I know you're out there!" she suddenly yelled into the night.

"Kagome! Come sit down, we left him far behind." Goku yelled from where he was saving her a spot by the fire.

"_No_, we didn't! He's out there! I feel him! MIROKU!"

"Why are you calling him?" Gojyo asked her in annoyance. "Didn't you tell him to go away?"

"I told _you _to go away, yet here we are!" she retorted sharply before turning back to face the woods, but as she did so, she found Miroku staring into her face.

She jumped at the sight of him but she didn't run away. Behind her, she felt, more than heard, the Sanzo-party stop what they were doing to pay attention. As she stared at her dead friend, she tried to force her fear away in shallow breaths. Miroku just waited patiently for her to make the next move.

Trying to calm her beating heart, she could do nothing but look at him. His eyes were no longer the haunting black but the warm brown they had always been. His skin was no longer pale and thin but was now exuding a healthy glow. His hair was clean and in its usual ponytail, and his expression wasn't that of a sadistic, evil pervert. His expression was the calm, cool, and collective man she had come to know. It looked like the old Miroku was back. She _hoped _the old Miroku was back. She feared the thought of killing him again.

"Why are you here?" she whispered as she tentatively raised a hand to his face.

"I'm here for you," he answered softly as her fingers grazed his cheek.

Her breathing got faster as she felt his warm, solid cheek. She took a step closer to him and let her hand rest fully upon him.

"You're alive?" she asked in wonderment.

She let out a nervous laugh and didn't give him time to answer before she slapped him.

He stood in shock as he put a hand to his now red face. When he looked back at her, he was grinning. "Pardon my hands…they slipped."

"You pervert!" she screamed with laughter as she launched herself onto him. "If I could cry, I would!"

"I know." he told her as he rubbed soothing circles on her back. "And that's all that matters."

"I bet if I groped her I wouldn't get a slap and hug." Gojyo whispered to his fellows by the fire.

The hug went on for an uncomfortable amount of time, of which Goku made a move to put a stop to it but Sanzo prevented him from making a scene by a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Let him go woman," Gojyo berated her. "He needs to breathe!"

"Trust me." Miroku said lowly. "If death was an option, there would be no other place I'd rather be."

Kagome stiffened in his embrace, suddenly remembering the secrets he had revealed to her in his rage. Miroku had been in love with her.

She pulled away from him. "Come on," she urged as she pulled him closer to the fire. She led him towards the boys and stopped far enough from them to have privacy, but close enough for them to feel the fire. She didn't care if the Sanzo-Party heard her or not, at this time in her life, she didn't care about them anymore.

"First off." Kagome started with a nervous laugh. "Do I have to kill you again? Because if I do, I won't be able to handle it."

What started as a joking question turned serious as Kagome's face became strained while she choked on her words. Miroku grabbed her hand and held it soothingly.

"No. You don't need anymore stress."

"Then why are you here? Why aren't you chillaxing in the afterlife? Playing a harp on a cloud? Chasing angel babes in heaven?"

Here Miroku released her hand and rubbed his neck in embarrassment.

"Well. You know I wasn't the best example of a monk, right?"

"They didn't let you in heaven because you were a pervert?" she asked loudly in both shock and amusement.

"To tell you the truth, I only just made it there because of you."

"Me?"

"Yes. Before meeting you, I was on a downward spiral towards damnation. Do you know _why _I became a monk, Kagome?"

"It isn't because you were raised by one?"

"No. I became a monk because people trust monks. When I met you, I was a thieving hypocrite who lied and cheated his way through life. I've never killed human beings before, but I have left at least

two for dead. I've defiled women and girls for my own desires and left them with promises of marriage and love. I've also robbed more than my share of travelers and villagers. I was not a nice guy, Kagome."

"You were pretty well behaved when you were with us."

"I kidnapped and robbed you when we first met. And if it wasn't for Inuyasha's sparkling personality and your smile, you would have seen what kind of man I was."

"So what happened?" she asked, purposely ignoring the comment about her smile.

"You." he answered plainly. "I wasn't in love at first, but I was definitely intrigued. After joining your little group, I played the good monk in an attempt to gain your trust, then I did it to lure you away from the hanyou, finally I just changed in hopes of winning you over someday, because I knew you wouldn't like the real me. That's why I meditated so much; I was trying to squelch old habitual thoughts. My desire to have you saved me. So when you released me from the jewel's influence, I was given this chance to prove myself."

"By doing what?" she asked in wonderment at the thought of Miroku receiving a mission from heavenly beings.

"I don't know," he told her, and in the background, she heard the Sanzo-party's reaction and smiled. "But I know it's for you, and I know that no matter what it is, I will not let you fall. I am for you."

She laughed as she hugged him again. "My own personal guardian angel!"

"Well, why wouldn't I be, you've been mine for years."

* * *

"I think I'm jealous." Gojyo commented aloud as he and the others were walking.

The start of the next day had the group walking as to give Hakuryuu a break. And ever since the night before, Kagome had given all her attention to the newcomer. She trailed behind him like a puppy and he looked at her as if she was a piece of meat.

Happy beyond compare, Kagome found a hitch in her step as she hummed aloud. Ever since gaining Miroku as a companion, she hadn't left his side. The Sanzo-party, traveling ahead of them, hadn't made a fuss over the new arrival and she figured that was a good sign.

"What are you humming, Kagome?" Goku asked as the sound of her voice reached his ears. Looking back, he couldn't help but return her contagious smile.

"A song." she answered happily as she skipped ahead to join them. "We can dance if we want to; we can leave your friends behind."

As she reached the group, she made a beeline for Hakkai for he was the one who danced with her last time, but before she could reach him Goku intercepted her. Interlocking their arms at the elbow, he starting skipping in a circle with her. So delighted at the dance she continued to sing.

"Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance well they are no friends of mine. We can dance!"

As they danced, ignoring their companions, Kagome found that though Goku was small, he was strong. With his strength, he led the dance, practically slinging Kagome in the direction and way that he wanted her to go. The loss of control in the dance only excited Kagome more as the little man threw and tossed her around as if she weighed nothing.

"I say, we can go where we want to, a place where they will never find. And we can act like we come from out of this world. Leave the real one far behind, and we can dance!" the lyric ended with a high-pitched squeal as Goku lifted her high in the air.

"What is she singing?" Gojyo asked the silent Miroku.

"I have no idea." Miroku answered him with a smile. "Lady Kagome isn't from around here."

A silence passed with the sound of Goku and Kagome's shenanigans in the background. "_So_…I hear you're dead."

Miroku looked up at him in surprise before shrugging. "Pretty much. I'm just visiting for the moment."

"To help Kagome?"

"I think to keep her sane."

"Too late for that." Sanzo muttered as Kagome collapsed onto the ground from her tremendous spin she had been forced into by the over enthusiastic Goku.

"Lady Kagome's going to be alright. I'm going to make sure of that."

"You're in love with her." Sanzo stated rather than accused.

"I'm not the first," Miroku answered without hesitation as he stared ahead at the doting Goku as he spun Kagome around and in the air. "Nor will I be the last."

"She leads a sad a cruel life. She's not the most beautiful woman in the world, yet those around her become enamored and she wouldn't know it if it looked her in the face for years. She never catches the subtle hints even if everyone else knows about it. If you want her, you have to be blunt about it or…" and here he shrugged. "Who knows when the time is right? She's more on the move now then ever."

Miroku's eyes turned hard with a bitter emotion. "I've only just recently told her and I…" he took a breath.

"I think that's what so attractive about her. She has a fiery temper and spirit and yet she's so innocent. Even now, when she's like this, there's an undercurrent of innocence that will never leave her. I think I'm here to protect that."

The boys were silent after Miroku's presentation, and when Kagome sat up, she looked at them with a dulled smile, as if she knew that they were speaking of her.

"Come on Kagome," Goku said happily as he blocked her view and grabbed her hands. "I bet I can toss you high in the air this time."

"It seems she's already affected your group here." Miroku commented with a smile.

"You think so?" Gojyo asked with a mischievous grin. "Just watch him freak out!"

Grinning to his self, Gojyo crept up to the spinning couple as Goku attempted to build up momentum. Running up to them unexpectedly, he snatched Kagome from Goku's surprised grasp and threw her over his shoulder as he taunted the little man.

"I got your woman, what you gone do about it?"

"What the hell are you doing?" Goku yelled angrily as he glared at Gojyo. "_Put her down_!"

"Or what?" Gojyo goaded as he brazenly smacked Kagome on the butt.

Goku's mouth dropped open at this display and his face started to turn red.

"I don't know, Goku." Gojyo said as he tossed Kagome into his arms bridal style. "She's pretty cute; I just might make a move on her."

Goku narrowed his eyes as his hand twitched.

Seeing the urge to hit him in his eyes, Gojyo took it a step farther and kissed the giggling Kagome on the cheek.

"I will disembowel you!" Goku screamed as he suddenly had his staff clenched in his hand and made after the retreating Gojyo.

What followed was a vicious game of tag that Kagome was just too happy to be a part of. She was tossed and flipped in the air so that Gojyo could make fast escapes. He used her to distract Goku and to aggravate him further. She had near mishaps as Goku would come close to striking her by mistake or when Gojyo's grip slipped and she nearly suffered fractured and broken bones. Beside these incidents and the fact that she was being used as a source of entertainment, Kagome was having the time of her life and was happily enjoying herself.

That is, until Gojyo tossed her a little too high.

"Hold up!" Gojyo barked as Goku came a charging.

Seeing his empty hands, Goku stopped in his tracks.

"Um, yeah…I think she should have come down by now." Looking up to see what had happened, they found a wide-eyed Kagome standing upright on a tree branch, staring off into the distance.

"What'cha looking at?" Gojyo yelled up at her just before Goku delivered a blow to the stomach in victory.

Kagome paid no heed to the boys below her as her eyes feasted themselves on what could be nothing but a burning estate in a clearing up ahead. She could see no one trying to put out the fire, nor could she see anyone standing out of harms way. She heard no cries of pain or terror, only silence as the fire devoured the home.

"Oh." She murmured as dread filled her heart at the hinting that it was Sango who had done such a thing.

She took a step towards the wreckage and plummeted from the tree and straight into Gojyo's arms.

"You could have broken your neck!" Gojyo scolded her in surprise. "What did you think you were doing?"

However, Kagome barely registered what he was saying as she fought her way out of his arms.

"What's the matter?" Miroku asked after seeing the urgency on her face.

"I think Sango's here." She said, as she broke free from Gojyo's grasp. Not sparing them a second glance, Kagome took out running, leaving the boys no other choice but to follow.

She ran through the forest at breakneck speeds and only dislocated a bone once after running into a tree. As she ran, a glow through the trees became her focal point. Though she could hear nothing but the sound of the boys running through the trees, it seemed as if she could hear the screams of terror that the fire had provoked. Yet it wasn't until she saw the first body that she became frantic.

It was like that day all over again. The bodies started in singles, but the closer she got to home, the more bodies there were. The bodies of the dead and dying. Mutilated by the weapons of those she trusted the most. Her dead wolves, women and children, young warriors and seasoned elders. There were no broken arrows heads or miko residue this time, but the sword marks and fires was just the same.

She was hysterical and worried, and as the burning home came into sight, there was also an underlining of rage to her heart. They were trying to take her family away from her. Not again.

"Kouga!" she yelled as she burst onto the site.

She frantically looked around but all she saw were the slain bodies of her pack and the fire.

"Kouga!" she screamed running amongst the bodies, looking for any sign of her mate or baby.

Frantic and screaming his name, she ran for the wreckage of burning timber.

"Kagome, no!" a voice yelled as someone pulled her to a stop.

"No!" she screamed as she fought against them. "Where's my baby? I have to find them!"

"Kagome!" more voices; none worth listening to.

"My son! Atreyu! I have to find him!"

"Calm down! Listen!" Worthless! None were speaking of anything important! She wanted her son, she wanted Kouga, and she wanted them safe.

"Oh, God! KOUGA!" screaming at the top of her lungs she was suddenly silenced as someone slapped her. The slap shut her up, but the slapper wasn't effective enough to escape the punch she

delivered quickly after, and just for good measure, she swung around and clocked someone else while she was at it.

It was either the pain to her hand, or the quiet caution that resounded after striking her attackers that brought Kagome back to her right mind. With a wolfish snarl quivering her lip and her hair hanging in her face, Kagome looked around her with rage-filled eyes. No one even attempted to make eye contact.

"That's right_…I don't have a family." _Her eyes, ignoring the carnage and mayhem around her, caught sight of both Sanzo and Miroku on the ground.

"Which one of you _hit _me?" she growled with ferocity.

"What happened here?" Goku asked horror evident in his voice.

"Sango did this." Kagome growled before her eyes widened in realization. "_SANGO_!"

"What? What is it?" Miroku asked in alarm.

"Quick!" she yelled frantically as she began looking around. "Look for upturned dirt, or a fresh mound!"

"Why?" Goku asked her confusedly.

"Sango buries a victim alive! Quick, find them!"

They hesitated and she grew fierce.

"What are you doing? _Someone's going to die!_"

* * *

Like a woman possessed, Kagome buzzed around the estate frantically searching the ground for freshly turned dirt. Within minutes, her hands were filthy from constantly checking dirt. She paid no mind to the deceased, as she would forcefully toss them out of her way. The others also looked thoroughly but none as diligently as Kagome.

"I don't think there's anything here." She heard Gojyo yell and she sneered at his tone of voice.

"There has to be." She muttered as she looked around, but everywhere her eyes went all she saw were her companions giving up and the thoroughly searched grounds of the estate. Then her eyes went to the burning building. There was still one more place they hadn't looked.

"There's nothing there." Hakkai said, as he was suddenly there to stop her.

"There has to be," she repeatedly desperately, though her body language agreed with him. "Sango always buries a victim alive."

"Perhaps this wasn't Sango." He reasoned, keeping a firm hand on her shoulder to keep her from running into the fire. "This could possibly be some unfortunate mishap that was dealt to this family."

As she stared in his eyes, Kagome felt her resolve soften. Seeing her relax, he smiled kindly down at her as his eyes searched her face for something she couldn't fathom. As he opened his mouth to speak, she became distracted as an oddly colored butterfly darted between them. As her eyes followed the rapid fluttering of color, she caught sight of something white off into the nearby woods. She stared at the unknown object until it became clear to her of what it was. It was a tombstone.

"A graveyard." She whispered as she shook off Hakkai's hand.

"What was that?" he asked in confusion.

She didn't answer him. She could only think of rescuing someone from an unjust death. The boys didn't follow as she went off into the woods. Arriving onto the gravesite, she looked from headstone to headstone, trying to judge from which someone might be buried. She began to move about, her nose on the alert for the scent of living soul.

She saw it before she smelled them. An unmarked grave; that, unlike most, had no trace of new growth upon it. Freshly upturned dirt with the scent of a weak soul buried beneath. She fell upon it with vigor and began to dig furiously. She didn't realize she was making noise until another sound reached her ears and she had to hush to hear it. It was a soft whimpering. She began to dig faster and harder than before and only halted a second when a set of tiny fingers sprung from the earth.

Finally, she had enough dirt gone to freely pull the child from the earth. Though her fingers had moved when they had been exposed, she didn't move now that she was fully free. The child looked no older than twelve and was covered in dirt and blood. She had severe burn on one side of her body and her left eye was marred by a claw mark. Other than these obvious wounds, Kagome couldn't tell if she was injured anywhere else because of the amount of filth covering her body. If it wasn't for the subtly rise and fall of her chest, Kagome wouldn't have even known she was alive.

"Hey." Kagome whispered, trying to get the child to respond. "Wake up! Hey, wake up!"

After giving the child a shake, her right eye opened and fixed on Kagome's face as her hand clutched at her shirtsleeve.

"Momma?" she asked quietly.

Feeling a tugging at her soul, an ache in her heart, and an assumption that the child's mother was dead, Kagome couldn't help the lie that fell from her lips as she clutched the child to her lovingly.

"Yes…I'm here." She confirmed as the child began to cry in her mother's embrace.

"It's going to be alright." She moaned as she began to rock. "Momma's here and everything's going to be fine."

"You know momma loves you, right?"

The little girl's cries softened as she shook her head.

"Good. That's my baby. Now believe momma when she says, everything is going to be fine. Okay."

Feeling the child's shaking lessen, Kagome looked down at the child in her arms, to see her smiling lovingly up at her momma, and then her eyes closed.

"Hey! No, no, NO!" Kagome cried as she hugged the child closer to her, feeling as if she was losing her son all over again. "Mommy loves you!" she repeated, consoling the child in her final moments even as she fought to heal her, yet to no avail. She couldn't conjure up an ounce of miko; she moaned louder.

"It's okay! Momma will always be with you! I love you, so much! It's going to be okay! I'll be waiting on you, forever!"

She felt him; Death.

"No! Go away!" she yelled in a rush, but just as the words left her mouth; the grip on her sleeve fell away.

That was how the boys found her later. Moaning and mourning as she reburied a small body beneath the earth. As she finished, she finally acknowledged them and saw both Sanzo and Miroku kneeling next to her saying prayers for a child they hadn't seen. Feeling touched, she moaned louder as Goku placed a large, flat rock at the head of the grave.

"Damnit, Miroku!" she cried as she buried her face in his chest. "I hate this!"

"Come on," Miroku said consolingly as he pulled her to her feet. "There's nothing else you can do here."

"But I'm so angry!" she moaned loudly as he began to lead her out of the clearing.

"I know. It sickens me to know Sango could do something like this."

"What?" Kagome demanded as she pushed him away, her angry eyes now targeted towards him. "Don't say that! This isn't her fault! I did this to her! Me and this damn jewel!"

"Kagome…" Miroku said gently, trying not to upset her. "The reason we were corrupted by your wish so much is because we have darkness inside of us."

"_Darkness inside of you?"_ she snapped, not believing his words. "Then what about Shippo? _He _was just a child!"

"He was a _demon _child, Kagome. He'd lived a long time before coming to be with us."

She could only look at him with shocked and angry eyes. Not knowing what to say to him, she turned on her heel and stormed away. As she neared the remains of the burning estate, she halted in her tracks as she caught sight of a large and familiar cat demon eating away at a corpse.

"Wonderful." she muttered darkly under her breath, her eyes locked on the demon kitty.

"Don't do anything rash." Sanzo stated, his way of hinting that they should devise a plan. Yet, as the words were leaving his mouth, Kagome had honed in on her target and was swiftly making her way towards it.

"I feel we should let her be." Miroku stated as he watched her go. "She's on a war path at the moment."

"Please don't get eaten again!" Goku called out, looking green at the memory.

Kagome paid them no mind as she advanced on her prey, her eyes filled with nonexistent tears of grief and rage.

* * *

"Chick's hardcore." Gojyo muttered after they watched Kagome fight a cat demon on her own and turn it into dust.

"Indeed," Miroku agreed as he looked out at Kagome standing alone as her body healed. "But as you know, that ferocity came at such a high price."

"No…we don't know." Sanzo retorted, effectively getting Miroku's attention off Kagome.

"What do you mean? She hasn't told you? You mean she's entwined her tendons into your souls and caused you to obsess over her well being without a clue to the reason of the horror behind her eyes?"

"Yeah." Gojyo agreed. "Something like that."

"She told us some fabrication, but apparently it was a lie." Sanzo continued.

"Did she?" Miroku voiced with a strained face. "What did she tell you?"

Exchanging glances with each other the Sanzo-party retold the tale Kagome had given them while Miroku's face slackened with the untruth Kagome had constructed.

"Hm." Miroku murmured as he nodded his head to himself.

"So…" Goku droned, trying to get Miroku to say more. "Are you going to tell us what really happened?"

"Nope. She must have lied for a reason."

"Because she's fucknuts." Gojyo muttered aloud.

"Well, lying makes her feel better." Miroku snapped.

"Come on. Aren't you her guardian angel? You're supposed to…you know…keep her from doing those kinds of things…right?"

"_Technically_, ah..." Miroku said as his voice rose in pitch and his face screwed up in distress. "I'm an angel…_in practice_. _Barely _an angel. I'm more like a spirit _trying _NOT to burn in hell. So…um, yeah, it's not really _appropriate _for me to tell someone not to lie. I'm just a dead guy, I can't really do anything. I will, in time, apply _the laws_, rules, or whatever…you know _guidelines _of an angel-like-being, but…I…I don't want to be a hypocrite. You know what I'm saying?"

"No." Goku was the first to admit as he shook his head.

"Okay, you see…" whatever explanation Miroku was going to give the boys was put on halt as they were struck down by a swiftly moving white object. Following the large projectile with his eyes, Miroku turned on his heel and found himself being stared down by a woman whose heart he was a pro at playing. As his eyes landed on her, Miroku saw the tail end of Sanzo's advances, as she pulled a burning hand back to her side.

"So you finally left me." Sango said, her voice unnaturally deep and emotionless and her eyes listless. Sango didn't look as Miroku had looked under the jewel's influence. Yes, her skin was thin and her veins flowed with the black blood of evil, but where Miroku was hauntingly frightening, Sango just looked tired. Her face was slackened and her eyes were sunken. Her hair looked just as dead; it barely moved in the breeze and gave out no shine. "Now it seems I can't even get vengeance on how you've treated me all those years."

"Sango," Miroku began, his voice thick with regret. "I'm sorry, I…"

"No you're not." she interrupted, her eyes flaring open briefly, flashing him a look of the hatred within her. She turned towards Kagome and he saw her jaw tightened. "You're with her, and that's all you ever wanted. You're not sorry, so don't waste your lies on me…not anymore."

Miroku glanced out at Kagome too, and found her standing still and looking at Sango, but when he turned back to Sango, she was looking at him and her eyes were black as her veins bulged beneath her skin.

"Never again. You might as well look as hard as you can because she's going to end tonight. The bitch must die."

Miroku realized that he couldn't say anything and when Sango moved to approach Kagome, he could do nothing but step aside.

"Miroku!" Kagome yelled as Sango came nearer. "I don't want any repeats!"

"At least I can do that," he muttered to himself as he reached behind his back and produced his staff.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Gojyo asked as they decided just watching was making them insignificance.

"I'm dead and the only thing you can ask me is where did I get this staff from?" Miroku muttered without looking at them as he twirled his staff. "Youth in this world; _such stupid demons_."

"Did you just call us stupid?" Goku asked with narrowed eyes.

"Called you three stupid." Sanzo answered.

"You said youth, so how old does that make you?" Hakkai asked him.

"I don't know anymore." Miroku answered truthfully. "When all you do is maim the female population to death with sexcercise, time blends together."

"Are you a rapist?" Goku asked blandly as he took a step towards Miroku, but as he did so he was bounced down to the ground. "Hey what is this?"

The others poked around experimentally and found themselves trapped in a dome of spiritual energy.

"This," he told them without looking their way. "…is a precautionary. Just trying to keep her from the pain of accidentally having you killed from her fight. It might not set well with her."

Upon the field, Sango had finally reached Kagome, and with movements meant to intimidate, Sanzo unbuckled Hiraikotsu from her back and planted it into the ground. Kagome didn't react and only kept her eyes trained onto her best friend as they sized each other up.

"We don't have to do this?" Kagome called out as Sango slowly began to fiddle with a tie on her clothing. As she spoke, Sango merely raised her eyes briefly with a small smile on her face before she went back to her hand work.

"I can end your suffering now." Kagome continued. "If only you'll let me. I can make it all bet…."

Sango began to laugh. "All my problems can be solved? Just by what…letting you kill me?" the laughter abruptly stopped and Sango tossed her kimono to the ground, revealing her slayer's suit underneath. "I've waited too long for this moment. You're going to die."

"I have no weapon. You were honorable when you were alive, what about now? Will you strike down an unarmed opponent?"

"Honor?" Sango spat. "Honor is the one thing you couldn't take from me." Her eyes flickered angrily as they began to blacken. "The _only _thing I can keep for myself."

Kagome thought she saw Sango glance in Miroku's direction, but the thickening blackness of the evil within her made it hard to tell.

"And honor," Sango continued. "is the only thing keeping me from using Hiraikotsu and ending your pitiful life quickly. Well that and my desire to feel your death through the blade of my katana."

"You won't use Hiraikotsu because of honor, but you'll use your katana?" Kagome questioned incredulously as Sango produced her seldom used sword from its scabbard.

"Honor will not save you from the punishment you deserve!" Sango yelled in sudden fury. With an eerie screech Sango took a step in Kagome's direction, but in a blink of an eye she was gone.

From their positions the boys couldn't begin to guess in which direction she headed, but after witnessing the black swarm assaulting Kagome, they had a 50/50 guess as to where her destination had been.

From what they could see, the swarm carried a steel blade that cut and bit into Kagome with little remorse. The quick, ruthless attacks forced Kagome into a sporadic ballet of death. Though they didn't see the attacks, they did see it when blood was spilled, and after hearing Kagome's gasp of pain and surprise, they finally saw her smile.

Seeing it, Sango stopped her assault and reappeared a little ways off. "Stop it!" Sango yelled, her voice deep and angry. "You're going to die! Why are you smiling?"

Kagome's smile deepened and she sniggered as her wounds began to heal and strips of clothing began to fall away, revealing tantalizing flesh that caught Gojyo's attention though he decided not to comment on since no one else seemed to notice.

"SHUT UP!" Sango screamed, tossing her katana like a javelin.

Kagome's sniggering stopped with a gurgle as the deadly projectile embedded itself through her right temple and out the back of her head. Silence reigned after the hit with Sango's face contorted in rage and anticipation and the boy's wondering if this was the end of the fanatical woman with the perky attitude. Who were they kidding, the woman was insane and it looked damn good on her.

The force of the impact caused Kagome to stumble back and her body slumped downward without falling. They saw her fingers twitched, and when she raised her head she moved with the fluidity of a marionette. Her right eye rolled around drunkenly in her head and was steadily turning red as blood began to fill it.

"Sango." she moaned loudly as she tentatively put a hand to the hilt of the katana. She winced as she touched it and smiled grimly when she gripped. The first pull, accompanied by the grating sound of the metal raking against bone left her breathing in heavy, painful breaths as a wild smile blossomed on her face. The second pull got the sword free from her skull as she both laughed and screamed at the pain.

"Sango!" she called out through her pain. "Let me save you." she ended quietly, her smile still in place.

With a shriek of rage, Sango attacked with her arms outstretched, intent on ripping Kagome's throat out. Kagome only laughed aloud as she raised her arm and pointed Sanzo's gun at her charging friend.

Back on the sidelines, the boys were scared to look at each other in fear of seeing Sanzo's face and the eyes of whoever was going to die by giving Kagome his gun. Smoke started billowing from Sanzo's mouth and they were pretty sure the cigarette on his lips hadn't been lit yet.

"You should let me save you!" she screamed as she fired the first shot.

Being caught off guard, Sango was hit, but by Kagome having no experience with a gun, she caught the bullet in the arm. Sango screamed. "Who the hell blesses their bullets?"

"Old, angry, blonde monks with killer hairdos!" she answered back as she fired again.

She missed, and missed again as the seasoned exterminator used evasive tactics and barreled past Kagome, effectively knocking her down and the gun from her grasp. Landing on her back, Kagome hurriedly flipped over, trying to keep her eyes on her opponent. But upon turning onto her belly, she found Sango already standing over her with her foot on the gun.

No words were spoken and they merely smiled at each other. Sango riled her foot back to kick the gun away, but when she bypassed the gun, Kagome had no time to brace herself for the impact. Sango landed the kick into Kagome's stomach and the force of it lifted the girl off the ground a landed her a few feet away. She didn't lay on the ground long enough to feel pain before Sango hovered above her with a raised foot.

"Why won't you just die?" Sango yelled in outrage as she attempted to stomp Kagome into oblivion.

"What is it?"

Kagome had no time to answer even if Sango had meant for her to speak.

"What is it about you that makes you so damn special?"

"Why do you get to keep living while I live this nightmare?"

Kagome didn't have an answer anyway.

"Why? Huh? Why are you still here? I know what happened, you should be dead!"

She agreed fully. She should be dead.

"You spoiled bitch! You're stealing life just like you stole all the attention! All of my attention! All of my love!"

With every word, Sango's blows would hit harder and harder, yet Kagome never made a move to protect herself nor strike back. Sango needed to vent and she needed to be punished.

"You don't deserve it, you never deserved it! You're just selfish!"

Kagome grew rigid on the ground.

"Selfish!"

She trained an abused eye on Sango as she felt annoyance stir within her.

"SELFISH!"

Death had called her selfish. The bitch.

"Shut up!" Kagome yelled in outrage as she managed to strike Sango in the knee. Caught off guard, Sango crumpled, and as she fell to her knees, Kagome rose up and met her chin with her head, effectively knocking Sango completely over. Standing over her friend, her sister, and now her enemy, Kagome growled low in her throat. "I am not selfish and you know it, you cold hearted bitch!"

Sango, looking to all the world like a worn down woman whom had just watched her dog get run over, looked up at Kagome in shock and hurt, but it didn't last long for the next second the evil and rage within her came forward. With a mighty shriek of hatred, the blackness descended upon her and she tackled Kagome to the ground, all training gone as she focused on only causing as much harm as possible to her former best friend.

They rolled around on the ground, kicking, screaming, biting, and pulling hair. An outright girl fight between an evil, possessed demon hunter and an insane miko with issues with the Grim Reaper.

Back on the sidelines, Gojyo was making an observation as they all watched the fight with fascination. "This, uh, this is kind of hot."

Somehow, during the scuffle, Kagome had ended up on Sango's back, and with her legs wrapped around the older girl's middle and her arms around her neck, Kagome had managed to get her into a submission hold.

"Why are you legs so strong?" Sanzo gasped out as she attempted to break the hold. "What the hell is this?"

"I learned it with Kouga." Kagome answered her with an effort as Sanzo thrashed around. The move was actually called 'No means no Kouga, I'm tired' but she felt that information was on a need to know basis.

Knowing she couldn't hold onto her forever, Kagome began looking around for something to assist her, what she found was even better. Sango's katana.

Tightening her hold on Sango's neck, Kagome used an arm to reach out for the discarded weapon, but as she felt the arm leave her, Sango began to fight against her even harder. Kagome's hand fell just short of the katana and if Sango got free she'd be able to grab it easily but knew she'd have a hell of a time using it on the trained killer. With that thought, Kagome froze. Trained killer

+ evil + bitterness = monster, and she had created it. She was doctor Frankenstein and Sango was the monster, the perfect monster. A blow to the face from a flailing hand snapped her out of her relapse, she had to get that weapon before Sango got loose.

Sango's struggles pulled them away from the sword, despite her obliviousness to what Kagome was planning. Realizing this, Kagome began to rock and scoot them closer, disguising her movement within Sango's fight for egress. With one final scoot, Kagome's hand fell upon the sword and without a pause, she hefted it high and plunged the blade within Sango's belly, through her own, and into the ground.

Sango laughed aloud as she held still. "It'll take a lot more than that to end me. Stupid bitch, now what do you plan to do, wait here until one of us goes first?"

"No," Kagome grunted as she struggled to pull the shikon from around her neck. "Just need you to hold still for a moment."

Not seeing what she was doing, but sensing oncoming doom, Sango made an effort to unpin herself, but Kagome's free hand held onto the hilt and kept it from coming completely free from them.

"See, you got to do it like THIS!" and she ended with a yelp as she pulled the sword upward causing the wound to open longer. Coughing up blood and smiling a gruesome smile, Kagome quickly forced the jewel into Sango's open belly and yanked the sword free.

With the deed done, Kagome relaxed her grip and lay prone on the ground while Sango quickly scrambled up, but as she stood she immediately collapsed to her knees as the first wave of pain hit her. Running her hands over her middle, she attempted to remove the jewel but found the wound had already healed around it and was steadily getting better as the smoke began to emit from her mouth and eyes.

"It's all going to be better now, Sango." Kagome groaned as finally began to rise, her maddened eyes trying to show sadness.

"Yeah, _better_." Sango barked out through her pain, as she clutched her stomach and shook uncontrollably. "I'm dying…again."

Kagome had no response as she fell down before her friend. They met eyes briefly and Sango smiled at her through her pain. She didn't yell, she was a warrior and warrior's didn't give in to pain.

The smile hit Kagome like a blow to the head and it seemed as if she was undergoing the pain that Sango was denying. Feeling the phantom pains, Kagome moaned and held her stomach.

"I'm sorry." she whispered sadly as she fell her head onto Sango's, touching foreheads. "I really am, I never meant for any of this to happen. I was stupid and made you pay the price. You're my best friend, my sister, I never wanted to hurt you, Sango. Will you forgive me?"

Sango, who had been moaning and shaking, stopped and held in her misery. Placing a hand on Kagome's shoulder and giving it a squeeze, Sango's smiled again, sadly. "You were my best friend, you were my sister, I know you're sorry, and under the circumstances I would have done the same. I understand."

Kagome felt like her old self again. She knew she could do this. She would set them all free. Because she loved them and they loved her.

"But," Sango continued. "I don't think I can ever forgive you. Not after what you did."

Kagome's world dropped from beneath her and she froze.

Crying silently, Sango kissed Kagome upon her forehead and stood, leaving the girl behind. As best as she could, Sango gathered her katana and sheathed it, then ambled over to Hiraikotsu, but she could barely bring herself to stand upright, let alone heft it onto her back. By now her skin had turned brittle and gray as the jewel stole the life it had given her back.

"Sango?" she heard spoken softly behind her.

Bracing herself against the giant boomerang, Sango turned to find Kagome had come closer, looking at her with despair and hurt.

"Why?" she asked softly. "Why can't you forgive me? You said you understood! You said you would have done the same! So why? Why can't you forgive me?"

Sango only looked sadly upon her.

"Is it because I kept Inuyasha from helping you? Is it because _I _didn't help you? Is it because I used the jewel before purifying it? What? What is it? Why don't I deserve forgiveness?"

Sango looked even sadder now and the tears began to roll faster down her face. "He hasn't told you?" her eyes flickered to Miroku briefly. "He really does love you then."

"What?" Kagome voiced in confusion.

"Don't do it, Sango!" Miroku could be heard yelling from the sidelines, but he was ignored.

"What's going on Sango? What don't I know?"

Standing to her full height, Sango hoisted Hiraikotsu onto her back and began to take strong, confident steps away from Kagome, and as the girl made a move to come after, Sango stopped her with a look. Continuing her death walk with confidence, Sango's eyes began to glow white as the powers of death and the shikon began to show through the cracks in her skin. First she faltered in mid step and then she began to slow. Her moans became louder, and she shook harder, finally she screamed for all the world to hear as she imploded into dust.

Kagome cried out in pain as she did so and had no time to stop her friend's ashes from being scattered to the wind. She moaned for her loss as the wind circled back on her, and in her ear, she heard Sango whisper.

"Do you see my blood on your hands, Kagome? That is not the first time."

Looking down at her shaking limbs, Kagome saw Sango's blood. Confused, she stared at them for a long time, and then just as quick as a flash of lightening, she saw them again, in a different time, in a different light. It was just a glimpse, but she saw it. Another glimpse, another flash. And again, and again. Closer and closer the lightening came, until finally, it hit her.

She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move. And as she stared in horror at her hands, the tears began to fall. The tears she had never been able to shed. The tears she had longed for. The tears that refused to fall because she refused to remember.

She had killed her friends. She hadn't gotten them killed by keeping Inuyasha at bay. She had killed them because they had gotten in her way. She had killed them because she wouldn't listen. Wouldn't see them. She only had eyes for the murderer's of her family and heaven help whatever lay in between. Heaven didn't.

She couldn't bring herself to look at Miroku. At what she had done to him. At the love he still held for her despite what she had done. She fell to her knees as her tears rained down. She cried, she sobbed, she bellowed, she screamed, and she hated herself. Hated everything about herself. Hated what she did, what she had become, and what she couldn't do. Couldn't do? She could do something. She knew what she had to do, and knew the moment her tears returned. She felt them, her powers were back and she would put them to good use.

* * *

"What the hell is that?" Sanzo spoke up as the first wave of power hit them. It was strong, it was holy, it was destructive, and it was coming from the deranged miko in the middle of the field.

"Oh no." Miroku breathed out in despair. Watching as Kagome rocked back and forth in the field, crying loudly and sorrowfully.

"What is that?" Goku asked. "What is she doing?"

"What's going on?" Hakkai finally asked.

"She's trying to kill herself." Miroku answered them as he came to realize.

"Kill herself. I thought she couldn't die." Gojyo voiced.

"No. But I think she's going to use her powers to…destroy her very soul."

"Well don't just stand there, stop her!" Goku yelled in fright.

"I…I don't know if she'll succeed and if I move to stop her and it didn't work, then she'll be worse off because then you'd be dead."

"But if you don't stop her and she succeeds, then you'll have us to contend with." Sanzo told him darkly.

"No, if she succeeds then I have failed and will be returned to have my fate dealt with."

"So you're just going to stand there and wait to return to heaven, like some coward angel!" Gojyo yelled angrily.

"I'd rather be in hell." Miroku whispered softly, his head swimming with indecision.

"You're useless!" Goku yelled in outrage and he and the others began to fight against the barrier with a zeal.

* * *

She felt herself weaken, but she'd just push it harder. She wanted nothing, she wanted to be nothing. It had already started, she couldn't see, she couldn't smell, and the sound of her own crying and power were beginning to dim in her ears.

It was only just a matter of time and will now.

__

"What do you think you're doing?"

She heard the voice in her head but she ignored it. If she concentrated enough, she imagined it was the wind.

__

"Why are you doing this?"

The voice returned and she cried harder as she forced more power out.

__

"Do you think I'm going to let you go that easily?"

The voice was loud in her head now, and she could swear she heard laughter in the background of her head. Yet the voice and the laughter were not the same.

__

"Not now. Not when you're so close."

"You have a responsibility to uphold."

"Do you think this will make you feel better? You won't feel anything. You won't be anything."

"Stop this."

"Kagome. Are you listening to me?"

"Don't do this."

__

"Stop it."

"Stop this, now!"

__

"Kagome! Cease this at once!"

"I won't let you go!" The last yell came out louder than the others and she felt it reverberate through out her body, and as she blast out the last of her strength and resolve, Kagome fell to the ground as something hard and heavy hit her.

As she lay on the ground, and felt the darkness creep onto her, Kagome felt the arms around her as someone weakly whispered to her. "I got you now. I won't let you go." She didn't feel the same effect as when she first heard it, but then again, it could've been due to the fact that she had succeeded in destroying her soul. She welcomed the dark.

The voice began to yell as more and more heat entered it's voice.the voice grew firm.

* * *

"Is she dead?" Gojyo asked again as he stared at Kagome's lifeless body.

"She's breathing." Hakkai pointed out.

"And I am still here." Miroku added.

"Big deal. How do we even know you're even telling the truth about being angel anyway?"

"Don't answer that!" Sanzo snapped. "You better tell me what you're going to do about him."

The room grew quieter as all eyes turned to the badly burned and unconscious Goku lying in the bed.

"When Kagome comes to, she will heal him." Miroku answered solemnly.

At the mention of her name, the boys looked to the body they had propped up in a chair at the table. She looked out at them without seeing and only barely breathed. The had tried everything to snap her out of it. CPR, water, they had slapped her, Sanzo shot her without warning, and they called her name relentlessly. Yet she only healed and took the abuse as her eyes stared vacantly out at them. The body lived on, yet no one was inside. Kagome was dead, they knew, but didn't accept it. Her eyes gave it away though. No longer maddened, no longer crazed, no longer the eyes of a monster, and no longer a void filled with loneliness, despair, and anguish. Eyes that were no longer overly bright and that seared the soul with just a look. Those eyes were gone. The eyes the corpse held were dark, dull, and glassy. Dead.

"If Hakkai couldn't heal him, then what makes you think she can?"

"You felt that power back there. She has the strength to do it. She'll _want _to do it once she come through. Kagome's strength laid in her love of people. She can heal him."

"Are you sure she's coming out of that?" Gojyo asked skeptically.

"I have faith."

"This is depressing, I need cigarettes." Feeling useless, Sanzo grabbed his robes and headed for the door.

"Could you bring…" Hakkai started to ask but was cut off by Sanzo's growl.

"Get it your damn self." and then he was gone.

"Well we need food, and more bandages." the last was adding after a solemn look at theninjured Goku.

"I'll come with you." Gojyo added, not wanting to stay in the room. "Grandpa's probably only going to buy smokes for only himself anyway."

Miroku stood to join them. "And I'll like to accompany…"

"No angel. Stay." Gojyo commanded with a wag of his finger.

Miroku scowled at him but didn't move.

"Good, angel. Now sit." and then they were gone.

"You don't tell me what to do." Miroku mumbled to himself at he sat at the table with Kagome.

"This _is _depressing." He finally commented after a second of listening to a burn victim's labored breathing and Kagome's semi non-existent breathing.

* * *

"Hey there guardian." a voice spoke up. "I thought they'd never leave."

With a start, Miroku looked up to see a white haired old man leaning against the wall.

"You!" Miroku said with alarm as he sprang to his feet.

"Sleep." Uncle Cyrus told him lightly as he poked him in the forehead, and as Miroku fell to the floor in a deep slumber, Uncle Cyrus slid into his seat.

"Hey there, Leti."

Kagome's body didn't respond and he smiled at her.

"Oh dear, someone had an accident." he began to laugh at some unknown joke and as his laugh drifted through the room, Kagome's dead, unseeing eyes rolled over to meet him.

"There you go." he laughed, smiling at the body before him. "Didn't quite kill everything off did you? Just enough left to keep this body of yours breathing right? I suppose that's your boyfriend's doing. I hear you two have the greatest relationship. I can't wait for the showdown. Somebody really hates somebody." Again he laughed and Goku began to slightly convulse.

The laughter died and only the smile remained. He folded his hands and stared at her with overly bright eyes. "You know I want let you go either, right. I like you. You're my favorite little star and you're too valuable to lose. Of all the paths and destinies, and all the fates that you can, have, and will go through, this path is a masterpiece and I am thoroughly entertained."

"Souls grow back, Leti. And yours will eventually and you will resume touching people's lives like you've been doing, for better or for worse. But things have already been set into motion and I would hate for you to miss your queue. So I'm going to do you a little favor." he opened his hands and a butterfly flew out.

The insect move with the fluidity and wrath of a nuee ardente, yet glowed the colors of a field on fire in a rain storm. It fluttered in the air slowly and Uncle Cyrus watched it fondly.

"Don't say I never gave you anything." he told her before the butterfly landed on her head, in the exact same spot Death had kissed her. It fluttered it's wings once and then seemed to soak up into her skin. After a moment's hesitation she gasped and then she choked. She couldn't get enough air, her body was burning, and her heart ached. She fell from the chair and her body convulsed on the ground to the sound of laughter.

The dark was gone. She was back, someone had pulled her back, and she hated it. She didn't want this, she wanted to be nothing, she enjoyed nothing. She couldn't remember what it was like, but she knew it was numb and comforting. Not this. This life. Life was pain, suffering, and miserable. Her life. Her damned life. She didn't want it. A keening noise escaped her mouth as she attempted to curl up into herself on the floor.

Footsteps sounded within the room and she barely acknowledged them, but as a face appeared in her peripheral and a hand found its way to her head she had to react. She had to know who had returned her to hell.

"Welcome back, Leti, my little star." Uncle Cyrus greeted with a smile as he ran a comforting hand over through her hair.

"Why am I back?" she sobbed, her face wet with tears.

"You're not through yet."

Her lip trembled and she looked away from him.

"Don't worry. The cheese at the end of this maze is going to be great. You may not love it, but it's great. _You're _going to do great things."

"I don't want to." she cried. "I don't want to do anything."

"Too late. You will, because you're strong and you will because you must. You can't escape it. It's a terrible path, but you'll make it your own. Now when you get over this little breakdown of yours, heal the Monkey King there, you beat him up pretty bad, and he's not through yet either." and like that, he was gone, leaving only a chuckle in the air.

With a shuddering breath, Kagome looked around to see if he was really gone, and once sure of that, and that Miroku was really asleep, she rose up to find the results of her self destruction.

"Monkey King?" she wondered through her tears as she laid a hand on his chest, the familiar powers she had missed now flowing freely beneath her skin.

Later when the Sanzo-party returned, they would find a fully healed Goku sleeping in bed with a livelier breathing Kagome snuggled up next to him and a soon to be confused angel sleeping on the floor.

* * *

The night of the new moon came and Kagome and Miroku were ready to leave. The Sanzo-party had followed them out to the desert to say their good-byes, or good riddance, depending on whom you asked.

"Do you really have to go now? Can't you stay another month?" Goku asked hopefully as he looked longingly at her.

"No, we have to go." Kagome answered from Miroku's side as she looked at them soulfully. "I have to find out what other horrible things I've done."

Miroku rested a hand on her shoulder and gave her reassuring squeeze with a hint of warning.

"And I have to set everyone else free. They don't deserve this."

"We understand, Kagome." Hakkai told her.

"Yeah, good luck okay." Gojyo added.

"Be safe. And take care of yourself." Goku said seriously. "You can come back right, you know to visit? Get to know us better?" the last was said in the deeper, darker voice that creeped everyone out, yet it brought a smile to her face for the first time since she awoke from the darkness.

"Your ride's here, I think." Was Sanzo's way of saying goodbye. But she knew what he meant. 'And I'll miss you the most, Scarecrow.' or something along those lines.

"Time to go Kagome." Miroku told her after seeing her hesitation to approach the gate.

"Alright. But first." and without giving him warning, Kagome had forced Sanzo into a hug, a bear hug where she lifted him off the ground briefly. "I'll miss you grandpa."

Sanzo grunted and lit a cigarette.

"Bye, Waist." she told Gojyo as she hugged him too, making sure her arms circled his waist.

"Good-bye my crazy molester." he told her sincerely.

"I'm going to miss you, my running partner." she aimed at Goku but as she moved to hug him, he met her halfway and hugged her tightly. "Don't forget about me."

"I don't think I can, if I tried. "

"Come back, okay?"

"When the time comes, I'll be back."

"Hear that gramps?" she taunted Sanzo as she turned towards Hakkai. "I'll be back." to which her answer was a gun cocking and a puff of smoke.

Smiling to herself, Kagome turned to give Hakkai a hug and was first hit by bedroom eyes before a warm mouth covered hers. Shocked into rigidness, Kagome couldn't decide what to do, but as the emotions of the kiss hit her, she melted into him. A kindred spirit; lonesome, full of passion, hole in heart, and they were just on that same level. He did dance with her after all. The kiss was full of heat and it awoke something in her. A need.

He broke the kiss first, yet he still held her close, tightly, hungrily. She gave him a heated smile in return. "What took you so long?"

"You'll be missed." he said lowly, stealing one more kiss, before releasing her.

"That'll boost a girl's self esteem too." smiling drunkenly, Kagome turned away only to find that Miroku had turned his back on them and was looking into the night sky, while Goku looked to be promising to rain hell on someone's life after she left.

Seeing trouble she walked back over to him and gave him a quick kiss before he knew what was happening. "You'll always be my hero." she told him as she whispered his name to him, causing his eyes to darken and a manly smirk to conquer his lips.

"I'm more your type anyway, _Kagome_. I'll last longer."

"That's creepy." she whispered before turning to face Miroku.

"Bye boys!" she yelled over her shoulder, but as soon as the words left her mouth a dust storm swept in and obscured everyone's vision.

She heard her name being called from all different directions and the wind twirled her round and round, and as it finally settled and things cleared up, she cared for nothing but what stood before her.

He was paler, his eyes were dull, and he looked sad, but he was still the most beautiful sight she had laid her eyes on in a long time.

"K-k-kouga?" she stuttered.

He smiled sadly down at her, and then she was up in his arms. "I love you, Kagome. And I'm going to make sure we're never apart again." and then he snapped her neck and she knew nothing. She was nothing.


	16. Chp 15

This was going to be a One Piece section, and full of sexual innuendos, but instead you get this. With less sexual innuendos, so it's going to be boring. This chapter, she is with the Leandros brothers, by Rob Thurman. I fell in love with this book series at the start, Nightlife, and will forever be a fan of the incredibly talented Thurman. I suggest you read these books, not for following this chapter, but for having a wonderful book on your shelf.

* * *

Chp. 15 Alive

* * *

"You want us to find _all _these people?"

The pictures the client had placed on the table all showed a variety of people. Fat, old, short, young, tall and fit, men, women, children, all caught in the act of doing mundane things. Cal Leandros sighed, he really didn't feel like finding all those people, and he sure didn't like their new client.

Their new client was a young Asian man with black hair pulled into a short ponytail, and Cal was pretty sure the guy wasn't human. Because of this uncertainly, he was suspicious of what the man wanted with the people in the photos, but he was paying, they were in need of money, and the guy hadn't come off as a baddie. Besides, they really needed the money. And he couldn't forget about the money.

"No, they're all the same person." Miroku answered the surly young man as he tapped the pictures. "See, they all have the same eyes."

"Shifter?" Niko asked, studying the pictures with a calculating eye.

"Kitsune."

"Fox demon." Niko clarified before his brother had time to ask.

"His name's Shippo, and he usually kills his victims and assumes their position in their family. His childish mind, demon powers, and kitsune nature causes the families to destroy themselves in attempts to rid themselves of him. Assuming the identity of all those in his household, Shippo tormented a family so, that the husband killed everyone in the house, not knowing which was Shippo at the time, and finally ending his own life whilst Shippo taunted him."

"Sick." Cal commented blandly. "What's his problem?"

"He thinks its funny." Miroku answered stoically.

"And you want us to find and kill him?"

"I don't care what you do with him, I _need _you to retrieve the girl he holds in his possession. Her." Face softening, Miroku pointed at a figure, often in the background and most often not pictured at all.

Kagome. She looked tired. Hell, he knew she was tired. Shippo kept her at bay and depressed by impersonating those closest to her. He could feel her, and she resonated sadness and guilt. She had tried to escape, a few times, he had been calling to her to do so. Her mind was strong, stronger now with Sango's death, but her resolve was weak. She couldn't truly bring herself to leave him again. Not her little Shippo.

In every picture that she appeared, Kagome would be looking directly at the camera, with dark glasses over her eyes, and no smile, not even one of insanity.

"What's wrong with her?" Niko asked, noticing that the woman didn't seem to be all there.

"She's…a bit, fragile of mind." Miroku answered carefully.

"Is she dangerous?"

"In her own way, yes." Miroku's mouth quirked at this and he looked away from the brothers. "But as long as she sees me there, she shouldn't be a problem."

"Do you have any leads?"

"Yes. In fact, I know exactly where he's holding her at this very moment."

* * *

It was dark when they finally decided to enter the warehouse. They had been monitoring it for hours, no movement inside nor out. They assumed that the kitsune was off tormenting a family and had left the girl inside. Or so their client believed.

"Well go ahead, Goodfellow, pick the lock." Cal urged their sometime partner and friend, as he and his brother scoped the area.

"Is this what I've become reduced to," Robin complained as he went to work on the door, "locksmith for the dirty pair?"

"Quit your whining, you know you love the attention, you whore."

"As much as I love the attention of a foul mouthed child, I'd prefer the compliments and praise I deserve, how about it monk?"

Miroku, who had been busy trying to look into the darkened windows, turned around in surprise. He gave them a little smile and looked at his hands.

"Monk? Not anymore, wasn't much of one anyway." Shaking his head, Miroku turned back away to look into the now opened door as his smile dropped. "She's definitely here."

"How can you tell?" Niko asked as he took the initiative and entered first, while Cal brought up the rear. Although he asked Miroku the question, Niko kept his eyes trained on his surroundings and his hand clutching the hilt of his sword.

"She's my special girl." Miroku answered as they all spread throughout the vast room.

"Well sorry to tell you this buddy, but your special girl, isn't here." Cal commented. "There's nothing here but dirt and dead bugs. There aren't even any doors leading anywhere."

"She's got to be here."

"Not unless she's invisible." Robin said, as he looked into the derelict office. "Wait, how small is she?"

"Yeah, maybe we stepped on her." Cal joked but was silenced by a look from Miroku. "What?"

"Quiet." Niko whispered.

"I'm sure your brother was only joking."

"No, do you hear that?"

The men grew silent, and the quiet of the warehouse swallowed them. Then they heard a faint jingle.

"What is that, a bell?" Cal asked as he pulled out a flashlight.

They heard it again.

"Up there." Robin said just as Cal looked up with the light.

"Lady Kagome?" Miroku called out, and as the last syllable left his mouth, a shadow moved in the rafters, and with it's movement the jingling intensified.

"Shippo…please…" a soft voice moaned from above as the shadow moved yet again.

"Kagome, no it's me. It's really me." He yelled frantically over her moaning, as she pleaded with Shippo to stop. "It's Miroku, can't you smell me."

The moaning stopped and all grew silent again.

"Miroku?" the soft voice called out timidly.

It ached his heart to hear her spirit so broken. A spirit so bright, so energetic, too crazy to be stomped. Broken by a child. A child she would certainly call her own.

"Yes, it's me. Stay there, we'll get you down. Quick, find a ladder." The last was yelled to the others, but before they could move or frown at the tone of voice, the jingling grew louder than ever, and as they watched, an angel fell down to earth.

The jingling turned out to be chains and the angel never touched the ground. Suspended by the chains, Kagome hovered in the air above them, with a chain locked around her neck, waist and limbs.

"She's a living marionette." Robin commented as he circled around her in wonder. "Macabre, yet beautiful."

"Kagome." Miroku breathed, unaware of anyone but his lost friend. "Are you alright?"

Kagome's head swiveled to face him. Leaning down, her legs rose into the air, showing that all the chains were interlocked. Not until she and Miroku were face to face did everyone notice the dried blood along her face and the shackle around her head, covering her eyes.

"Miroku." she gasped, clasping him around the neck with her chained arms. "Take me away. I can't stand it anymore. Make it stop, please."

"Of course, Kagome, anything. But, what's wrong with your eyes? What did he do to you?"

Kagome let him go and rose a few inches as she straightened up. "My eyes?" she asked, her voice sounding tired. "He doesn't like them. He tried, tried to get rid of them. He says they're wrong; not my eyes. Not that I blame him, tried to rid me of them, but he never could. So he hides them." Her face contorted as she began to cry. "I'm tired."

"It's going to be okay. I'm here now. Just have to get you out of these chains." With worried eyes, Miroku turned his eyes to Robin. "Great Locksmith of Old, get her down. Please?"

"Sure thing." he told him as Kagome leant down so he could access her. "but I don't do this for free. I'll expect some kind of payment later."

"Yes, yes, whatever you want." Miroku said, distracted by his attempts to comfort Kagome.

"Stop your whoring for now, Goodfellow, we have a job to do."

Kagome, who had been silently sobbing on Miroku's shoulder, sniffed and grew silent.

"Miroku…" she called, her voice steady and firm for the first time as her head turned to face Cal. "…who's your friend?"

All activity paused at the tone of her voice, and as they looked from her to Cal, Niko tightened his hold on his sword and looked meaningfully at Miroku.

"Never mind that now, Kagome. We have to get you out of here, before Shippo returns."

"Oh," she said as her body drooped. "It's too late for that anyway."

"What do you mean?" Niko asked, drawing his sword and taking an defensive stance.

"Shippo's done playing for now."

The door slammed open, making them all turn in surprise, weapons up and ready. There was no one there, no one except the wind. Kagome giggled weakly.

"What the hell is she laughing at?" Cal growled as the smell of evil and forest hit his nose, yet he could see nothing.

"What are you doing?" The voice belonged to none of them and was too close for comfort.

Whirling around Cal pointed his SIG at a dirty little boy with wild red hair. He looked no older than eight and had pale skin and dark rings under his eyes. He would have thought the kid human if he hadn't seen the fox feet, ears, and the rattiest, limpest, dirtiest tail imaginable.

Cal found himself curling his lip as the boys scent hit him full on. The kid was not only an evil forest smelling imp, but he smelled too much like family.

"What are you doing here?" the kid growled, sounding like a mad puppy. "Miroku? What do you want?"

"They've come to get me." Kagome answered sadly.

"Kagome, quiet." Miroku called to her feverishly.

Shippo ignored him as he turned a forlorn and decrepit look up at Kagome. "Why do you want to leave? Don't you love me anymore?" he asked, sounding to all present like a dejected child.

Kagome's face scrunched up in pain. "I never stopped." she cried.

"Do you want to leave me again?" he asked her.

Kagome only cried harder.

"See." Shippo said with smug satisfaction as he turned back towards the others. "She doesn't want to go with you. So get the damn, fucking, shit out of here!"

"What the hell?" Cal asked, his gun faltering at the use of language.

"He's a child," Miroku sighed. "He doesn't know how to…" but what Miroku was about to say was cut off as a heavy piece of machinery suddenly hurled him out of sight.

The attack was then followed by a child's delighted laughter, Kagome's moaning of distress, and a warehouse full of orange, blurs of puff balls. This wasn't so bad, yeah, there were a lot of moving target and Cal had to make sure he wasn't going to shoot his brother of Robin along with the demon, but it was easy enough for the others to slice and dice the devil child whenever one would swoop by. Yet, the laughter continued, whenever they would kill one of the clones it was replaced by a demolished leaf, and more and more would come to takes its place.

"Surprise!" One of the Shippo's yelled appearing over Cal's head. Before he could do more than look Shippo had latched onto his shoulder with his razor teeth.

"Cal?" he heard Niko call out, wondering if he needed assistance.

"It's doesn't hurt too…" But before it could get bad, Shippo began to shred him. Razor sharp teeth slicing through his shoulder meat like butter. Nom, num! Bite, slice, chomp, and shred.

"Get off, you parasite!" Cal yelled, trying to lift his arm to shoot the demon from his body, but the pain and constant gnawing made it hard to lift it.

"You taste funny." Shippo gurgled through a mouth full of Cal blood. "I don't know if I like it."

"Sorry to hear that." he groaned, and as Shippo made to bite him in the neck, he stabbed the small monster in the head.

"Oww!" the others Shippo's screamed as the one he stabbed exploded into a leaf. "Kagome he hit me!"

"What?" turning to look up, Cal saw the chained woman tense up.

"Leave him alone." she whispered feverishly.

"She's out of her damn mind." he yelled to his companions as he began to shoot down small fox children. "This is a really fucked up case of Stockholm syndrome."

But the more of the demons they killed the more appeared and the louder they would cry out to the woman.

It was creepy and off putting to have to kill crying children, but said children were fighting, biting, and mocking back. Cal kept finding himself looking up at the woman, grimacing and pulling on her chains the more the demon cried. He couldn't help it, she was tickling his senses and he didn't even know it. He kept looking at her, even when Niko slapped him in the back of the head to pay attention. Still, something kept drawing his attention, and then he saw it. Her muscles, straining against her chains, briefly flared with power and she broke free of on the links.

"Whoa." he muttered briefly before a fluff of orange was in his face.

"Lady Kagome!" Miroku yelled as he was finally free of the machinery. "Don't you do it! You know they can't hurt him!"

As Miroku rejoined the fight, the Shippo clones exploded and leaves rained down on them until only one remained, and he didn't look pleased.

"Don't you talk to her, pervert." Shippo growled, his voice low and dangerous as his eyes bled black and his veins rippled. "Stay away!" From the boy's throat, came a gurgling roar, and before they knew it, there was a dome of fire above their heads. When they saw that the fire wasn't getting any closer, it took a while to see why. The woman had maneuvered her chains until she hovered over them, and with her arms outstretched, she kept the fire at bay. He wasn't sure how, but she held the fire back from them.

"Can you smell blood?" she asked them all.

"Yes." both Cal and Robin answered her.

"Good." and before they could stop her, she had bitten into her hand, drawing blood. "I'll stall him."

They heard Shippo call her, and as her chains drew taut, Kagome was yanked from sight as the fire, in a blinding flash, spread throughout the room.

As their eyes adjusted, Shippo and Kagome burst through the window and into the night.

"Not this time!" Miroku growled as he ran towards the window and through it in one single leap.

"Okay, now I know he isn't human." Cal commented, but just as the words left his mouth, Niko had bounded up and practically scaled the wall before vaulting out the window.

"He doesn't count." he said, but as he and Robin took a step towards the window, they both stopped, glanced at each other, then turned for the door.

He would not lose her again. Not when he was so close. Not when he had her in his sights. With them only a few yards ahead of him, Miroku ran faster than he knew he could, jumping higher than he ever thought he could, practically flying across the pavement. Kagome said nothing as she hung in the grasp of a giant pink balloon, listening as Miroku called for her, keeping her in the here and now, and just letting her know he was there. She would have smiled if Shippo hadn't been, simultaneously, telling her he loved and needed her. She was torn. She cried.

A familiar sting of a bullet crossed her faced, followed by yelling. She inhaled and caught the scent of that boy again; Miroku's friend. She wanted to be his friend too. As the smile found its way onto her face again, she felt the chain she had broken, dragging and bumping into things. She had said she would stall.

"Swinging the chain, swinging the chain." Kagome sang as she gripped the chain and began twirling and slinging it around. Fishing around for any kind of leverage, Kagome was satisfied when she caught a snag and her and Shippo's flight came to an abrupt stop. Satisfaction only lasted a millisecond, but the pain lasted longer. She couldn't see, she couldn't hear, she could hardly tell the difference between hot and cold. The sensation was enough to jolt her into a fit of laughter, but Shippo's scream was enough to drown her out..

"There!" Cal yelled unnecessarily as he caught up with the others. "They're caught on that power line."

"How did you come to that conclusion? Was it the glowing woman or the smell of cooked flesh?"

"Shut up, Goodfellow!"

While the two argued, and Miroku raced on, Niko had reached into multipurpose trench and whipped out a machete. Twirling it once in his hand, the blonde had launched the deadly blade with an even deadlier accuracy, and off came Shippo's hand.

With the taking of Shippo's arm, also came his grip on the chains that held Kagome. And as she fell to earth, and Shippo screamed bloody murder over his hand, the chain fell away from the power line and Kagome went slack with exhaustion. Falling, time seemed to slow down. She looked up at Shippo, at her little Shippo, screaming bloody murder; her tormentor for months, enraged that others would dare oppose him. Though she couldn't see, she felt that he was looking down at her, and for a second her heart froze at the gloom and loneliness that he projected at her, but then it was gone and the rage was back.

"Oh." she moaned aloud just before she fell into the arms of an angel in training.

"I've got you." he breathed into her ear, and he said it with such fervor and meaning that she curled up into the crook of his neck and began to cry.

"You can't have her!" Shippo yelled, sounding like the child he was. "I hate you, you stupid bastard head!"

Shooting Shippo a look, Miroku sent a flare of holy energy out, and with a growl, Shippo took off into the night, cradling his hurt hand as he went.

"Is she alright?" Niko asked as they all gathered around the crying girl.

"She'll be fine now." Miroku answered shortly as he gathered up the hot chains and pivoted and began to walk away. "Come with me. I have the rest of your money in our room."

* * *

By the time they made it to the motel, the ask-no-questions-motel, Kagome had stopped crying and was silent. After making it to the room, they settled in by propping Kagome up on side of the bed as Robin went to work on ridding her of the chains.

"When was the last time you've eaten?" Miroku asked as he got busy hustling around the room.

"There wasn't." she answered him quietly.

"Then here." he told her as he forced an apple in her hand, which she immediately began to munch on.

"Alright boys, now for your money." Miroku narrated aloud as he carefully placed a clean pair of clothes and accessories next to his frazzled hair friend.

Going over to a drawer, Miroku rummaged around before presenting the boys with an overstuffed wallet. "Keep the change."

"You've changed quite a bit Mr. Cardenas." Cal commented as he held up the drivers license within the wallet.

"Well would you look at that." Miroku murmured as he stared at the Hispanic man on the picture. But before anyone could say or do anything else, Robin let out a start and cursed in Italian as he fell to the floor.

Turning around, they caught the tail end of Kagome as she rushed into the bathroom, looking at Robin they saw him looking upset on the floor with the manacle that had covered her eyes in his hands.

"Those eyes." he whispered in awe.

"Yes, yes, I know." Miroku said in a rush as he helped the fallen faun from the floor and ushered him and the others out. "Thank you for your services, if you count any money missing, you know where to find me." and with that said, Miroku shut the door in their faces.

"What the hell was that about?" Cal asked after a seconds pause.

"Those eyes will haunt my dreams for nights to come." Robin muttered as he began to walk down the hall.

"Were they really that bad?" Niko asked, as he pocket the money and discarded the wallet.

"Looking into that woman's eyes was like falling into hell during a perfect storm while hell was under attack by the celestial being above and you had just been stricken with the sound of children laughing in your head. Not to mention the vertigo."

"All that from one glance?" Cal asked skeptically.

"I need a drink."

"You always need a drink."

* * *

Cal growled menacingly as he cleaned the ogre blood off the bar counter. It knew better, they all knew better. It was one of the unwritten rules of the bar. Right up there with never piss off the bartender. And since he was thoroughly pissed off now, he was just on the edge from losing it.

He licked his lips as a hunger growl emitted from his belly. This only made him growl louder, blood and violence, made for one hungry Cal, and a hungry Cal, meant a dangerous Aulphe. And anything that affected his heritage, made for an even angrier bartender. They knew better; they could smell the difference in him; they knew not to piss him off anymore.

The silence made him look up; he had an audience. Every monster in the room was giving him silent, cautious glances. He growled louder and slammed the rag onto the table, sending up a waft of ogre blood into his nose. He licked his lips again.

"Alright assholes," he yelled angrily. "Since I have your attention! What the fuck did I tell you about bringing 'snacks'?"

"Don't do it." a few mumbled, or gurgled, and snarled.

"That's right. Don't fucking do it. I know you eat humans, but you do it out there where I can't catch you until later!"

"Did you kill somebody else in my damn bar?"

Turning from his scolding of the bar patrons, Cal briefly looked over his shoulder at his boss, Isshiah.

"I didn't kill him. But he's probably going to die." after saying this, Cal made one final look at his customers, but they had already gotten the message and gone back to their business.

"Where'd you put the body?" The Peri asked, ignoring his sour and menacing demeanor.

"Out in the alley."

"Go get rid of it."

"What?" Cal asked, all anger and violence in his face being replaced by dismay.

"Stop being lazy and get rid of that body."

"But, but somebody will eat it."

"You put it there, you get rid of it."

"Damnit!" grumbling, Cal tossed his apron to the counter and stormed out the back door.

Grunting in triumph, Isshiah took up Cal's post behind the bar, glaring in warning at would be troublemakers and dishing out his patrons chosen poison.

* * *

"There, you happy?" Cal complained as he finally trudged in through the back door. "Now, I smell like ogre."

Sniffing himself in disgust, Cal gave his hands a half-assed wash and turned to find his boss, stoic and wary, staring into the back of the bar.

"Hey, what's got your feathers ruffled?"

Said feathers twitched as they were mentioned, but as he boss turned to face him, they were out of sight in a blink.

"What's up?"

"There's a human girl here." Isshiah told him a nod of his head towards the back.

"What? Who brought her in? After I just told them about bringing in snacks!" the last was directed towards the clientele as his voice rose in irritation.

Scanning the crowd, he didn't see sight of her, but he didn't smell human blood, so he knew they hadn't eaten her yet. Hell they hadn't even taken a bite. Someone was either planning to take her out later, or they were planning to make the hybrid from hell by getting her drunk and possibly glamoured. He would have gone out and dug her from whatever monsters grasp she had fallen in to, but since Isshiah hadn't made a move, then he too would back off. For the moment.

"No one brought her in. She came by herself."

"What, is she crazy? Something's wrong with her right? Is she dressed in all black with her hair in her face, pale skin, and a sour disposition?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you just described yourself."

Giving himself a quick once over, Cal ran a hand through his hair, getting it out of his face. "Yeah, but it works for me."

Isshiah's lips quirked as he turned away. "If you believe so. Look, just watch out for her, she's playing cards with the wolves."

"I wouldn't be too worried about her anyway, " Isshiah muttered, turning to head into the back, just as the wolves let up an uproarious cacophony. "She smells like death."

"What?" Cal yelled, trying to be heard over the noise, but Isshiah had already gone. "Right."

Now knowing where to look, Cal could take a guess as to where the human girl had gone. The wolves were having a fit. Throwing back mugs of beer, growling, roaring, and beating the crap out of each other in companionship. Then he saw it, a small hand. Since it wasn't covered in fur or disfigured, he assumed that it was her. She shot up onto her feet, slapped the cards onto the table and let loose a torrent of guttural growls and barks. Yep, that was her. In fact, she looked hella familiar.

Just as the thought went through his head, one of the wolves began to confront her in anger. He made to go to her aid, but he saw she didn't need it. The girl held her ground and stared up at the hulking beast as if she was the bigger one. She pushed back, she growled, and she showed her teeth in defiance. She wore glasses and a tailored pin stripe suit, looking like a mob assailant reject. After a silent standoff the werewolf finally showed his neck and backed off, but not before angrily tossing a chair across the room and knocking out a vampire.

Smiling, and practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, the girl slapped the wolf on the back good naturedly and pushed her glasses back onto her nose. Looking up, she spotted him watching her and came over.

"What can I get you?" he asked her as she sat on a stool.

"Hmm." she wondered, placing her arm on the bar and tapping her lips with a finger and drawing his attention. "Surprise me."

"Surprise? Alright." muttering about surprises Cal disappeared behind the bar and reappeared with a cold beer. Popping the top off with his thumb, he handed it to her. "Surprise."

"Thank you, broody." Reaching for the beer she got a start as he grabbed her wrist. As he pulled her closer, the corner of her lips curled.

"What are you doing here with these monsters?" he asked lowly, his voice scolding.

"What monsters are we talking about?" bringing her other hand up to rest atop of his.

"The ones that won't hesitate to eat you. What are you doing here?" he asked again, releasing her hand and freeing his own.

She rolled the beer in her hand and looked silently at him through her glasses. "I came looking for you."

Watching him, she saw a glint in his eyes and a slight tensing of the body. He was a fighter and was prepared to kill her if the need be. He grinned at her, but there was no humor in it at all. If she had been anyone else, the look would have been frightening. But she was who she was, so she grinned back.

"Me? And what the hell do you want with me?"

"We met last week and I just wanted to have a proper one. Face to face."

He stared at her a moment in silence .The moment then stretched to a minute and her smiled widened. "Oh." he finally voiced. "We rescued you from that demon. Yeah, you made Goodfellow throw up."

"Did I?" Hearing this, her smile slipped.

"Not really, but he wanted to. He looked like he did. What did you do to him?"

"I did nothing." she told him, fixing her glasses. "I can't help it."

"What's wrong with them?"

"My eyes?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe I'll show you later." she told him with her voice low, trying to draw the attention away from her eyes. "I'd rather talk about you."

"Is that right?" straightening up, Cal leant on the back counter and crossed his arms.

"Don't get all defensive. You piqued my attention when you came to rescue me and now I see you're just as interesting to the eye." she too sat up straighter and shrugged. "I just thought we could have a little fun."

"Wait." with a fevered look, Cal swooped in closer. "Are you flirting with me?"

"I wouldn't say flirting." she answered him. Leaning in so close that she could easily lick his nose. "Think of it as seducing."

"Why do you want to seduce _me_?"

"Because your scent drives me crazy." bobbing her head, her nose touched his and he rocked back like she had burned him.

"Whoa!" he murmured, his face flushed. Blowing hard he snatched her untouched beer from her hands and downed half of it in one gulp. Blowing hard once more, he set the beer back down and fell back in close with her. "Alright." he told her with darkening eyes. "but what are you? Because you got to be more than human."

"Yeah, I'm human. Just…" here she ran her hand across his cheek and into his hair. "…with a healing touch."

"Yeah, you got that right." he said, feeling the soothing effects of her touch.

"I interrupt?" an angry, raspy voice sounded behind her.

Seeing Cal's eyes widen, Kagome knew that the owner of the voice was someone she couldn't ignore. Spinning on the stool, Kagome found herself staring at a snowy white beauty dressed in biker leathers. Her eyes seemed more annoyed than angry, but her cleft lip was pulled back to show teeth.

"Delilah." Cal greeted but with wary caution in his voice.

"Is this your woman, Cal?" Kagome wanted to know as she stood to face down her knew rival.

"Whenever she feels like it. Listen Kagome, you should really…."

"So you remember my name?" with a defiant flirt in her voice Kagome flashed him a smile.

"Alpha bitch." Delilah growled stepping up in between Kagome and the bar.

Kagome growled back, but the fight Delilah was looking for didn't reach her face, for she still wore a smile.

Snorting, Delilah turned her back on her, grabbed Cal roughly behind the neck and forced a heated kiss on him. She didn't stop until she needed air, and practically throwing Cal back to his side of the bar, she turned to face Kagome with a smug mug. "Mine pretty boy."

Laughing at the display, Kagome showed Delilah her neck and back off. "Of course."

"I kind of feel like a whore right now." Cal muttered aloud, obviously displeased by something. "What the hell are you looking at?" the latter was yelled to the watching patrons of the bar.

Getting the bar goers back to their beers, he turned an eye on Delilah. "And what the hell was that all about? I know miss I-have-many-lovers wasn't jealous, was she?"

"I my own wolf. You _my _pretty boy."

"What?"

Seeing a lovers quarrel coming on, Kagome made her exit out of the bar and into the night, where she found Miroku waiting patiently for her.

"Did you get what you needed?" Miroku asked her as they began walking.

"Yeah." she answered, hooking her arm in his and leaning against him. "I'm not quite as dead as I thought I was."

Miroku didn't respond, only hummed in acknowledgment.

"I might not ever love again, but I still can feel things. Be attracted to others."

"What attracted you to the freelancer?"

"I think I might have problems. Because he smelled like a predator." She laughed at this and had to stop so Miroku could hold her up. "he smelled like smoldering violence and stubbornness."

"And that really did it for you huh?"

"More like just made me realize that I could still have an attraction. I'm not dead, Miroku."

"I could have told you that."

She laughed softly and shrugged. "Now I don't know what to expect down the road. What am I going to do? How am I going to end up? What's going to happen? I just don't know."

"Well at least you don't have to find out alone."

"Yeah." she agreed with him, before going quiet.

They continued down the street in a companionable silence. Ignoring walkers, hookers, and monsters brave enough to beckon at them. Even when the doorway opened up before them, they neither hesitated or acknowledged it; they just let it swallow them whole.


	17. Prt 3 Chp 16

**Part 3/Chp. 16 Something New**

* * *

She awoke with the sun in her eyes and heat on her neck. Her smile had been awake far longer but she didn't care. She was happy; and sane. Somewhat.

Easing out of the bed, Kagome stood tall and stretched until her bones popped and she felt more alive. Sighing contently, she grabbed her discarded robe and slipped it onto her bare body. Looking out of her window wall, she felt the view needed to be better appreciated. A caress of fresh air greeted her as she opened the balcony doors. She would have told the city good morning, if she remembered the name of it.

Seven months in one location, not hunting for Shippo, not getting hunted _by _Shippo; Kagome had taken a vacation. After running here, the child demon had hidden in the depths of the city and had been relatively quiet. She didn't mind the reprieve. It gave her time to have fun that didn't involve blood, gore, or danger. She got to enjoy the benefits of city life and a semi social life. Her eyes raked the city in fondness, until her eyes landed on the build board. It still threw her off every time she saw it. Every time she saw any advertisement with her face on it; with her eyes on it. She still couldn't believe she was modeling.

She was modeling; _her_. All she had been doing was running through traffic. She wasn't quite sure why she had been running. She couldn't even remember what she had been doing before she had darted into traffic. That day seemed to start in the middle of traffic and then she had merely landed on his hood. He said she had given him the fiercest, most hauntingly beautiful stare he could imagine. Later, he unnecessarily told her he peed on himself when they made eye contact. But after she looked at him, and the subsequent urination, he had scooped her off his car and into the world of professional modeling; and all before the cops showed up. After that, her life was a blur, flying across the world, modeling in ridiculous clothing, on ridiculous sets, for amazingly beautiful results. At first she loved it, what girl didn't dream of the grandeur of modeling at least once. She loved it; the flying, the traveling, the fan base. But despite it all, she got bored with it all and always returned to the city. Returned to the city where Shippo hid. Returned to the place where danger awaited. Returned to her bed warmer.

Turning to stare back into the room; back at the sleeping man in her bed, she smiled fondly at him. If it hadn't been for modeling, she was sure she never would have met him. They had been on sight in the park, covered in bronze coloring. They were suppose to be statues come to life. She still didn't understand why; but she had been sitting atop a horse; as the statue of a warrior woman. She guessed. She was never sure on the whole concept, but there she sat, posing like she was ready to decapitate her enemy and parade around with his head on a stick. Suddenly her horse freaked out, frightened by the sudden appearance of the caveman in modern clothes with the bag lady nails. He roared at her, but she didn't flinch. That was how her reputation went as a model. The fearless diva, the model who would go the extra mile to get the picture; do anything, and everything the photographer wanted without blinking an eye. Her fellow models either hated or feared her recklessness, because agencies were more likely to hire her. Besides, she had a gimmick. Her eyes could stop traffic, and then to divert themselves away from the horror plastered everywhere, they would then see the product she advertised.

As the caveman roared, her fellow models, and the crew cowered, but when the other one arrived, the hairy one she called him, they scattered. While the first caveman smelled of violence, rage, and depravity, his brother, she assumed, smelled of violence, rage, and dignity.

"I got to go! Go fetch!"

Surprised by how well the first caveman could speak, Kagome had no time to react before he had smacked her horse on the flank and sent her riding on in a reckless manner. Of course, the hairy caveman that would soon become her lover ran to her rescue instead of chasing his original prey. The horse wasn't stupid enough to stop just because the man pulled on his reigns, he smelled like a straight up predator. The horse freaked out even more, bucking and kicking, both trying to dislodge the insanity from his back and escape the danger at his side.

"Stupid animal!" he had growled savagely, his feet sliding across the grass as the beast ran for it's life.

She sat quietly atop the horse, watching and wondering what the man was going to do; then he did it. The man's vertical leap was amazing. She could only stare in wide eyed amazement as he jumped into the air like…hell, she didn't know what he was jumping into the air like, it was just fantastic. The power, the grace, the accuracy. His jump took him up and over her head, yet he managed to snatch her from her seat and on the downward descent, he flipped so that he landed on the bottom.

After this initial meeting, where they didn't really speak, Kagome's interest was piqued. It wasn't until a week later that things really got set off. She had been standing outside, with the other models, waiting on the limo to take them home. She had been standing apart from the other girls when a figure on a motorcycle sped it's way around traffic. She paid it no mind until the slipstream attacked her. Bringing with it, the scent of a predator.

She took after him then, ignoring the calls of her associates, the honking of horns, and the squealing of tires as she ran off into traffic. She kept on running, using her nose and traffic to track him down. She wasn't sure how long she had been following his trail, but once she found the parked bike outside of a bar, it was night and her feet ached. The rest played out like a classic movie. She walked into the bar and all was silent as every eye turned her way. She let a small smile grace her face as she adjusted her designer sunglasses. She scanned around the room through a haze of smoke, drunks, and people trying to forget, and then she saw him. He sat in a booth all of his own, his head down as he tried to drown himself in his liquor. She sauntered over to him, her eyes on his prone figure. As she sat down across from him, he looked up in surprise. Who would dare bother him; invade on his personal space? She smiled at him and introduced herself. '_Hi, my name is Kagome_.' she told him. _'And you better be as good as you smell._' And the rest was one for the books.

With a wide smile on her face and humming softly, Kagome left the balcony and entered the bedroom again. But instead of stopping and risking waking up her friend, she walked straight into the bathroom and filled up a cup with water. Going back over to the bed, she hovered over him for a second before dumping the water onto his neck.

He woke up wildly, swinging his arms and growling. After a moment he realized he was wet and that she was standing over him. He stared at her with sleep filled eyes then groaned as he put his head in the pillow.

"I thought I smelled bitch." he said gruffly as he rubbed his face.

She got a start every time he cursed, and this time was no different. She gave a little jump and widened her smile. "Why are you still here? Didn't we already have a talk about you out staying your welcome?"

He groaned in annoyance, practically growling as he sat up to stare at her. "Do we have to go through your psychosis every time I stay over?"

She ignored him and shook her head. "I don't even know why I let you in. Must be a combination of pity and ignorance."

At this, he stood to his full height, towering over her, and stepped his naked body into her personal space. The grin he gave her was a reminder of 'why' she did always let him in.

"You know damn well why you let me in." He told her, his voice low and husky as he placed a hand on her hip.

Grinning back at him, Kagome glanced down at his why, which wasn't far seeing as how her head just came up to his chest, and back into his face and shrugged with an aloofness that lacked devotion.

Turning from his touches, she walked towards the bedroom door. "I guess now, I'll have to call security and tell them that there is a seriously delusional man in my apartment." as she left the room, she heard him curse and growl at her. Walking down the hall and trying not to laugh aloud, a sudden commotion had her turning around. Still naked, he came storming down the hall to catch up with her. Passing her up, she watched as he first went into the kitchen and then into the living room.

Just as she was about to ask him what he was looking for, he confronted her. "Where he hell are my clothes?"

"Let's think; I don't want you in my apartment, you're unwelcome in my home, yet again..."

"Where are my clothes?" he growled.

Not bothering to open her mouth, Kagome pointed to the door; that lead out. Shoving pass her, he opened the door and looked around for his clothes. Spotting them a little ways down the hall he went after them, but as he tried to get back inside, he found Kagome standing in the door frame.

"Why do you keep doing this?" he asked her, his voice curious.

"How else do you expect me to get you out of my hair?"

"I think you just like to watch me walk around naked in your place."

Kagome backed up and shrugged. "Could be." she answered truthfully, and as he made to enter the apartment, she slammed the door in his face.

Hearing him cursing and growling on the other side, she finally let herself giggle at him. The man was so fun to tease. After the cursing died down, she turned around to find that Miroku had decided to show himself.

"Are we to go search for Shippo today?" he asked her calmly.

"Not yet." she told him, and that was it. He didn't push it, he didn't show disapproval, and he didn't really do much of anything these days.

As of lately, Miroku had gradually shut down. He stopped eating, sleeping, and breathing. He didn't laugh anymore and seldom smiled. He grew stoic and distant, and only spoke when asked a question, or when he felt it would be beneficial. He had become a living statue, he was handsome, cold, and immovable. He had become an angel. Yet what he lost in personality and liveliness, he made up for with power and neat little tricks. Like the ability to disappear and reappear at will. When he was present, the holy power that radiated from him was enough to have demons and other dark beings scurrying from his presence like roaches when you switched the light on.

"Do you need anything of me?" he asked, as he watched her walk away from the door stand before him.

"Yes, look at this." with a snap of fabric, Kagome had snatched open her robe and flashed her angelic friend.

His eyes raked her body, but there was no perverse grin, no lecherous glint in his eyes, and his hands didn't get involved in the examination. He didn't even flinch at the sudden assault to his eyes. "Yes, you seem fine. No bruising despite your friend's roughness."

Kagome deflated slightly. She wanted her lecherous guardian angel, not this perfect statue of gentleness. She stepped up and wrapped her arms around him while lying her head on his chest. No heartbeat, no hug in return; only a cold, warm shell.

Logan took this time to open her door. "Did you steal my belt?" he asked, but after seeing her half dressed and standing in the middle of the hall, he grinned a predatory look at her. "Did you miss me already?"

Kagome was silent as she stared at him, squelching her distress at the state of the now departed Miroku. Cocking her head to the side, she looked at the muscular, wild haired man in confusion. "Do I know you?"

"Forget it!" he growled, slamming the door and leaving her alone to her thoughts.

* * *

Kagome was dumbfounded.

Sitting in the front cave entrance, she could only stare as her son ran around, up and down, and back and forth. He couldn't walk, talk, or even stop to use the bathroom. Yet he could run around on all fours and knock his head on the cave walls without batting a tearful eyelash.

The front cave was used as a sort of leisure room. Where the other demons and wolves could lounge, nap, or socialize with the safety of the cave and with access to sunshine. She was just glad Atreyu had others children and pups to play with. She loved her son and mate, but with the two combined, she was wiped out. When Kouga wasn't trying to extend the immediate family, Atreyu was up and restless. She had come to appreciate playtime with the others pups. This meant for a tired out Atreyu at night and more rest for mommy. When daddy wasn't making himself known.

Knowing that the other mothers were watching the children, and Kouga was out terrorizing the country side; Kagome tried for one of the new in between, mommy naps she had discovered. They were wonderful and she deserved them. Sensing easy prey, the little ones advanced. They crept, and crawled, and stealthily stalked her, but once she began to stir, they flipped out and attacked. Barking, yipping, and giggling; Kagome disappeared amongst an avalanche of fur and tanned skin.

None of the other mothers wanted to immediately deal with their hyper-active pups and sacrificed their alpha to the mercy of the litter now nipping, biting, and licking at her. It wasn't until an older wolf entered the cave and growled at them did they finally retreat. Kagome lay where she had fallen, too tired and wounded to move, but as the wolf loomed over her and growled a few choice growls, she sat up and smiled. It would seem she had company coming.

Since having the human Kagome come to live with them, the wolves had 'acquired' certain items to make her feel more at home. She was sure by 'acquiring' they were actually pillaging and ransacking travellers, but by the time they came back, it was too late and she did need some of the treasures they brought back. It was one of these gains that she sent for as she stood up to greet her guest. Brushing dirt from her furs, Kagome tried to make herself look presentable before heading to the mouth of the cave. She didn't get far before someone realised mommy was moving and ran to intercept her. Swooping the little prince up, Kagome tried to wipe his face clean, only to get growled at and made to struggle with a wiggling child. Once there was some resemblance of a child in her arms, she stopped and waited patiently.

After a few minutes, of which Atreyu was becoming restless, the little prince stuck his nose in the air and sniffed before bouncing happily and spewing Gerber baby talk. A few seconds later, Kagome's nose told her what her son already knew, and then smiled as her friends came in sight.

Trudging up the mountainside, they paused at the sight of her. As smiles erupted on to their faces, they quickened their steps and called out to her. Inuyasha and Kikyo kept trudging, though there was a small smile gracing his lips.

Shippo was the first to reach them, and he practically bowled her over as he hugged her. She heard him grunt slightly as he tried to lift her. She said nothing about his attempt. Having grown taller and stronger, Shippo had been attempting to prove himself a great and powerful demon. Be that by showing off his strength or attempting to fight the other boys, ahem, _men_, he came across.. Bending over, she placed a kissed on his head and hugged him back fiercely. She had missed the little man.

Gurgling in her ear and an earthquake in her arms brought her attention to the child in her arms who was trying to get to his older friend.

"Well I'm sorry." Kagome said as she handed the child over.

"Hey, Trey!" Shippo greeted loudly as he held the small boy and tried not to get bitten.

In moments the whole gang had arrived and Kagome had hugged and greeted everyone. They retreated into the cave and sat near one of the smaller hearths where the contraband tea kettle and cups awaited. As they got comfortable and began to talk, Kagome asked Shippo help her tire out her little man by playing with him until he passed out. The grown ups talked and talked. Telling of each others latest doings, passing Kagome the newly acquired shards that needed purifying and just enjoying each others company. As the sun traveled farther away, Kagome even broke out the Ol' Ma's special tea, which had them all laughing and smiling, Sango even forgot to cringe when a pregnant demon had come to speak with Kagome briefly. Being used to the tea, Kagome's head was clearer and smiled at the memory of discovering Sango's fear of childbirth.

As she was present when Kagome went into labor, the strong, resilient warrior had crumbled and dissolved within the first couple of contractions. It made Kagome laugh til this day to remember how Sango had screamed louder than she. Whenever the time presented itself, Kagome would tease her until she couldn't stand it anymore.

With the birth of her son, Kagome found it much easier to be around Inuyasha and Kikyo, and didn't even mind that they were cuddling. She'd also tease them, but Kikyo's lack of humor and Inuyasha being Inuyasha, made her focus most of that part of friendship on Sango and Miroku.

When she voiced to Sango about Atreyu needing another child his age to play with and suggesting that she solve that problem for her. Sango had sobered up and turned slightly green while Miroku, well, she wasn't sure what Miroku's expression said, but it was soon covered by a lecherous glint that had his hand creeping. With a quick slap and another chug of tea, Sango was once again apart of the party.

"Sexy and beautiful mate, alpha to my pack, and mother of my esteemed child and future pups, I have re...oh."

"Kouga's home." Kagome told her friends unnecessarily as they burst into laughter. Having returned from pillaging, harassing, and hunting across the countryside, Kouga arrived to find his wife drinking the Ol' Mas poison and having a good time, _with the dog_.

Kouga smiled at Kagome's laughter, but as always when Inuyasha was around his mate, Kouga had to constrain his urge to growl, gloat, and just be an ass, as Kagome had previously told him. As the two faced off silently, with Inuyasha on his feet, clutching Kikyo to him tightly, Kouga's upper lip curled up. Dropping the dead ox from his shoulders and onto the collapsing shoulders of a subordinate, he marched to Kagome's side. Swooping down and lifting his woman into his embrace with one arm, Kouga stole Kagome's breath, and what seemed to be her tongue, as he kissed her deeply and passionately.

The kiss was broken by a yelp and a growl as Atreyu decided to chew his father's ankle. Looking down at his, soon-to-be-bloody ankle, Kouga swooped the young prince up with one hand, the boy practically dangling, and held him at eye level. Seeing his son growling and snarling at him, Kouga growled back, and with a bark, shut his son up.

With the arrival of Atreyu, Shippo also returned, looking worn out and down. Leaning against, Kagome's leg he tried to catch his breath while looking up at battling father and son.

With one more defiant growl, Atreyu seemed to go through some type of psychosis and was happily greeting his father as if he had never tried to take him out. Kouga seemed to be on the same mind set of his son and was happily greeting him back.

"My boy will make a great alpha! Look at him, already trying to dominate!"

"If that's what you want to call it." Kagome muttered from her position plastered at Kouga's side as she looked up at her family. "I sometimes wonder about you two, and I flinch."

"Come on!" Inuyasha snapped, glaring at his old rival. "We've got to go set up camp!"

"Oh." Kagome sighed, disappointed that they were ready to leave. "You can stay here for the night. We have spare room. And Kouga doesn't mind."

"Kouga who?" her mate started to say but was quieted by a jolt to the stomach.

With the thought of staying in Kouga's domicile and with pregos walking around, the group declined. Yet, she felt Shippo clutch at her unwittingly. Placing an arm around him, Kagome pleaded for Shippo to stay as the group went to visit Kaede and that they could pick him up again when they headed back out. With only a minor harrumph, Inuyasha agreed and Shippo was hers once again.

"I don't know where he's sleeping, because you know what's going to happen tonight." As the group walked out of sight, Kouga turned to leave after his troop, tossing his son on his head, where the little boy was eager to be, screaming enthusiastically as he clutched his father's hair.

"Calm down, you wolf." she reprimanded him with a smile. "And stop wearing my son on your head like a hat!"

"He likes it!" Kouga yelled back as he disappeared into the back tunnels.

"He's going to jump off, I know it." Kagome told Shippo. "And Kouga won't catch him because he won't be expecting it. It's happened twice already."

Noticing that though Shippo had looked excited at first about staying, he was now fidgeting and looking nervous.

"What's the matter?"

Shippo shook his head.

"Don't lie to me, Shippo. My nose has gotten better, you're nervous about something. What is it?"

"Nothing. It's just...what if the other wolves don't like me?"

"Like you? Who wouldn't like you, you're the coolest kid in the world."

He still looked nervous, so she hugged him. "Besides, wolves and foxes are close cousins. Not exactly chummy, but family all the same. Besides..." here she forced him to look up at her. "they all know you're Atreyu's older brother."

Shippo went rigid, and Kagome thought maybe she had said something wrong. After a moment's awkward silence, Kagome realized that the other wolves were now disappearing into the back and the smell of food was beginning to waft into the air. "I'm hungry, are you hungry?"

Without waiting for a reply, she gently nudged him til he began walking. She began leading him into the back tunnels that lead into the interior of their mountain keep. They hadn't gone far before Shippo finally spoke.

"What did you mean?"

She made a questioning noise.

"What did you mean that I was Trey's brother?"

"Well I had always thought of myself of a surrogate mother to you. I know you might have thought of me as a sister, but I always thought of you as my son. My cute, little, adopted, demon son, but a son nonetheless."

Shippo was silent as they continued to walk.

"I know I could never replace your real mother, but I had hoped that, one day, you might think of me as a substitute."

"You're too young to be my mother." he told her, striking her in the heart as he did.

"My mother died a little while after I was born. Daddy raised me by himself until he was killed." He stopped and Kagome stopped with him. Turning to face her, he sniffed and rubbed his nose before launching himself into her stomach for a ferocious hug. "You're the only mother I know."

* * *

She hadn't realized she'd been crying until the breeze made the tracks cold on her face. Sighing, she refocused her gaze onto the city and wiped the tears away. She had come out to sit on her balcony to rest from her tiring day of being feared and admired. She had come to realise, that besides Logan, she had no connections to this world. No friends. No random group of strangers to harass and drive crazy, yet build an unwanted bond with.

She realized that with her other acquaintances, she had attracted the group of misfits. Powerful. They all were strong and powerful. Warriors with effusive pasts and backgrounds. There were others like that in this world. She knew because the wind would send a waft of their souls filtering past her nose. They were out there, and just waiting for her to find them. So she could screw up their lives some way. But she didn't go look for them. Hell, she _never _went looking for them, but they would always cross paths. Not this time. No, this time she would be good. She would leave them alone. Except for Logan. He fit the souls she was attracted to. Yet, she hadn't tried to figure him out or what made his smell so intoxicating. She wasn't sure what he did outside her bed. She didn't know where he lived or where he spent most of his time. She didn't even know how old he was. By not prying, she kept herself at an emotional distance. She guessed Death approved of her recluse because she hadn't felt his tell tale shiver down her back.

She wanted to go dancing.

A sudden presence made her look to the right, where she found a little red haired boy perched on her balcony and grinning at her. The smile would have been cute if his eyes weren't demonically black, if his skin had a healthier glow, if his veins hadn't been bulging and wiggling under his skin like worms, and if his teeth hadn't been as sharp as knives. Who was she kidding? That smile was still cute. She grinned back at him.

"Hey, Kiddo." she called out.

"Hey, Kagome!" he yelled back in delight as he landed on the terrace and began looking around eagerly. "You're really high up."

"What you been up to?" she asked him.

"I've been watching TV!" he replied enthusiastically, hopping up and down as he told her of all the fantastic shows he had discovered. She watched him talk animatedly about which ones were his favorite and which ones he hated. She smiled at him and laughed once he got onto the topic of every child's delight. Cartoons. Giggling, Kagome forgot about killing Shippo. Forgot that Shippo had caused the death and destruction of many families, and forgot that when he wanted, he could torment her to the brink of breaking. For a moment, she could see the little boy who had been her first child. Her adopted son.

The sound of breaking glass broke her happiness and brought her back into reality. In a fit of sudden rage, Shippo had broken one of her windows. Grabbing a large shard, he pounced onto her chair and loomed over her with the shard mere centimeters from her eye.

"Don't you look at me!" he yelled angrily. He raked the shard across her face, and if she hadn't had jerked back, he would have cut across her eye.

"Who the hell are you?" he made another swipe at her face, but she blocked the shard with her hand and kept it from her face.

"Those aren't Kagome's eyes!"

"Oh." Realizing what had set him off, Kagome reached out with her free hand to the table beside her. She knew what had happen. It happened a lot when she had been under his control. Shippo hated her eyes.

"Is that better?" She asked, producing her designer sunglasses and slipping them over the monstrosity that had garnered her fame. Once the offensive organs were hidden behind dark glasses Shippo stilled. Only a slight tremble of his upper link showed the anger and rage that had stricken him. But as her eyes were covered, he calmed and finally perked up as if nothing had happened.

Kagome waited until he was happy and back onto the topic of cartoons, before she wiped the blood from her face and hand onto her sundress. If Shippo was going to act like nothing happened, she too would do the same. Why disrupt him and his happiness?

They continued to talk, or Shippo continued to talk, about cartoons and she agreed with anything he said. She loved him.

"Hey, Kagome?" he suddenly called out, looking at her with a steely look.

Though he couldn't see, Kagome turned an eye to him.

"Do you want to fly with me?"

"Fly?"

"Yeah!" he said excitedly as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the edge of the balcony.

Hopping up onto the rail, he tugged on her hand. Closer to the edge, with Shippo egging her on, her beloved city view seemed to scream at her, seemed to try to draw her over the edge. The noises seemed to intensify and her building seemed to tilt over. Yet, she climbed on to the rail, along side him. She had taken off her heels when reclining in the chair, and was glad she had. She was nearly sane, but not enough not to have tried to climb onto the rail in her heels.

"Ready?" he asked her with glee.

"Always." she told him before he began to countdown.

"1."

She had her qualms about this.

"2."

Whatever. She had always wanted to fly.

"3."

She jumped, hand in hand with Shippo, but as her feet left the rail, there was a buzzing from her apartment. She had a visitor.

As she began to make her descent, she hurriedly grabbed the lip of the terrace and kept herself from falling. What the hell was she thinking? She would have survived, but that shit would have hurt. Delighted laughter brought her attention upward where she saw a pink balloon floating happily over her head.

"It was almost like Wile E. Coyote." he laughed happily. "All you needed to do was flap your arms."

Kagome didn't laugh as she struggled to pull herself up.

"By, Kagome!"

"Where you going?" she asked as she finally crawled over to the safer side of the balcony, ignoring the buzzing over her concern for Shippo.

"I'm going to find another house to watch cartoons in."

"Oh." she muttered as she put her strappy heels back on.

"Don't worry." he told her as he began to drift off. "I'll see you again soon."

Kagome said nothing as she watched him float away. As she watched him, her eyes caught sight of her billboard figure and with a jolt, she rushed into the apartment, over the broken glass, and to the intercom.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"Who else?" she heard a gruff voice call out.

"Oh I don't know." she teased. All thoughts of Shippo being replaced by thoughts of a hungry predator at her door. "I have so many admirers. Which one might you be?"

"The one that makes you..." and anything else he was going to say was replaced with a feral growl, and she shivered. She buzzed him in and she knew that he would be there in less that five minutes.

Smiling, she looked at the blood on her dress and remembered the broken glass in her bedroom. Choices, choices and so little time. By the time Logan made it to her apartment, he opened her unlocked door to find her waiting for him in nothing but bra, panties, and some sexy, strappy heels.

"Was I the one you were expecting?" he asked, tossing his jacket onto a chair in the living room as he approached her.

"No." She answered, pulling him close an walking him backwards into the living room. "But you'll do." and with that said, she pushed him down onto the floor, and kept his mind off going to the bedroom.


	18. Chp 17

**A/N:**

From the get-go, I wanted to throw her into the superhero universe. But which one? Should I throw her in with the forever cool and slightly whorish, Batman, or the super strong yet wuss in tights Superman, or maybe the alcoholic and lovelorn Hancock? I had even considered the Super Friends or Justice League, whichever one you want to call it. Lobo, the Main Man, was going to be a big part of the Super/Justice League. Two crazies, one story, it was going to explode the Internet.  
For those of you who don't know, this is the X-men universe. Now, my association with X-men varies greatly. X-men have comics, cartoons, and movies. Moreover, the comics have so many different universes within themselves. And I've never read any of the comics, my first introduction to X-men was that old school cartoon where Rogue wasn't as broody, was actually flirty, and could fly, where Gambit was part of the team, and Jubilee was a main character. Since then I've seen other versions of the cartoons and movies. So I can't decipher what went with what and who. So I apologize now to any hardcore comic fans, because what I write will probably blend them together so that it works in my favor.

* * *

**Chp. 17 To Strike a Chord**

* * *

She was sure the man was a super villain. She was damn sure of it. You couldn't have a widow's peak that severe without a master plan to destroy the universe or at least a plot to rule the world. She had known the man for seven months and every time they would meet up, she would become more and more convinced that he was a villain. He treated his subordinates like shit, he was conceited, and his soul smelled cold and dark. He was exceptionally beautiful, with long flowing locks of the blackest of blacks. His eyes, though not as demented looking as hers, were an unusual shade that made them look amethyst in most lights. He was tall, graceful, and seemed to make lights dim with his very being. It took her a while to realize that the man was Sesshomaru's opposite in color, and his double in attitude and presence.

Yet there were certain aspects of the man that made her doubt his villain hood. For one, his name was Gena, with a hard 'G', and he was the CEO of one of the top modeling companies in the industry. For another, the man, had a sweet tooth to rival any child's, and would often be seen munching on chocolate or anything containing sugar. He was polite to a 'T" and besides being a former model himself, he was a classically trained ballet and contemporary dancer. She had known the man for seven months, and each meeting would both hinder and promote her thoughts about his role in life.

Her manager, Mr. Piss his Pants himself, and Gena's ass kisser, had set up their current date, in order to obtain her more exposure. She found she didn't really care for their meeting, or the thought of increasing her modeling career. She was bored with modeling, but if she were to abandon this, then she would have time to think, more time to spend with Logan, and more time to hunt down Shippo. So she would continue to go through the motions, continue to be bored, and besides, Gena was interesting.

They made quite a trio. Gena with his tall, dark, and mysterious aura radiating throughout the room, Kagome with her exotic looks and her barely contained electrifying personality, her manger, Myron, with his shaved head, and dazzling smile that had ladies swooning all over, and to top it all off, they were all inappropriately wearing sunglasses indoors.

She found herself staring dispassionately at the salad Myron had ordered for her. Though she still qualified as a petite model, she wasn't up to the standard of model thin, and Myron refused to let her gain anymore weight. She had wanted to tell him that she was stasis in her current biological state, but she didn't want to scare him. She may get filthy and haggard, but she wouldn't change. She remembered in her crazier state, that she would go without food or water for a countless amount of time, yet she wouldn't get any thinner. She recalled a time, in a fit of rage and anguish, which she had hacked off all her hair with a sharp rock, yet it grew back to its current length and would grow no further. When practically naked in the desert, her skin would not tan. She was unchanging, frozen in time, like a living doll.

"I wouldn't meditate if I was you?"

Like sands through the hour glass, Gena's voice broke into her concentration. Looking up from her meal, she found her boss looking at her with a blank face. She thought it blank; the glasses could have been hiding anything. Myron sat in an anxious silence, not sure where the conversation was headed.

"Why shouldn't I meditate?" She asked him, also curious as to the direction of the conversation.

"Certain people with a psychosis really shouldn't look inward. It could exasperate the condition."

She leaned forward on the table and propped her head in her hands while she smiled at him. "What makes you think I have a psychosis?"

"Well, who's up for some dessert?" Myron interrupted, trying to divert everyone's attention.

Gena and Kagome ignored him and regarded each other with a silent intensity that bordered on creepy, because everyone watching knew that neither blinked behind their glasses.

"Check please." Myron called out, looking around for their waiter. With him nowhere to be found, he looked around and saw him hurriedly working multiple tables away from them. He assumed it was shift change and took pity on the young man and told him to hurry up. He had no time for waiters, now waitresses on the other hand…

Thankfully, another waiter appeared from the back with a tray of food, effectively freeing the boy up to deliver them the bill. Knowing his companions were too busy involved with each other, and wanting to gain favor with the boss man, he laid his own money on the table.

"I apologize. Perhaps I was mistaken." He heard Gena say, bringing his attention back to the two.

"Perhaps you were, sir." Kagome responded with a nod of her head.

"Good, now that that's settled, I want for you and the other girls to go shopping at the Barbele Mall tomorrow from 11:00 to 6:00."

"The mall?"

"Yes. I have already spoken with the other girls; the limo should pick you up at 10:00." Without further discussion, Gena stood and began to walk out.

"Wait!" Kagome called out, pushing at Myron so she could hurry and run after Gena.

Catching up with him outside, Kagome caught hold of his arm and stopped him a couple of feet from his awaiting car and driver. Once she touched him, Gena merely turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

"I'd rather not go shopping."

"I've already set it up."

"But I'm bored…with all of this."

Gena was silent a moment as he considered her. "Perhaps you…" but whatever he was going to say was drowned out by an explosion down the street.

By this time, Myron had joined them, and as a group, they looked to see the glass littered ground be trampled by terrified people. Many had been around the shop when it exploded, but a few were seen escaping the shop itself. The only other things to be seen leaving the obliterated shop, were bits and pieces of their fellow man.

"There's no fire." Myron said quietly, and was right. There was neither fire nor smoke seen from the wreckage.

"Then what caused the explosion?" Gena added dramatically, and Kagome thought she heard a light sprinkling of humor in his voice.

'_Kagome_.' she heard giddily whispered in her head, bringing her attention away from the moral consciousness of her boss and back to the situation at hand.

"Oh."

Another explosion sounded, sending more screams into the air, and followed by the howls and snarls of a vicious animal. The growls became louder and what looked to be a mini tornado sprang forth from the rubble and onto the street.

The dwarf twister, with its peculiar sounding wind, idled in the middle of the street for a brief second, seeming as if it contemplated on which course to take before it began heading in their direction. They would have retreated into the restaurant; if they hadn't witnessed the twister, snapping people up into its vortex and not depositing them back out.

"Is it, eating people?" Myron asked them stoically.

As he said it, a dismembered arm fell before them with an obvious bite mark at its torn edge.

"Yes." Kagome answered for him.

By now, the man-eating cyclone loomed over them, and the vicious snarling and roaring now had an undertone of undecipherable blabbering. They watched transfixed as the wind died down to reveal the beast within. It was about the size of a small bear, with thick brown fur and curled ears. It stood upright with its forepaws brandishing strong muscles and seldom used claws. With its large eyes, little, black, button nose, and overly large eyes, it would almost seem cute. If for when it opened its mouth, there wasn't a large tongue and gleaming white teeth coated in the blood of its victims.

As it growled at them, they took a step back and it grinned. The vicious, snarling, and blabbering continued lowly, as if it was psyching itself up for a big event.

Sensing that Miroku was near, Kagome gave herself a mental shake. What the hell was she doing backing away from this monster? On a bad day, she would be the monster. She smiled at this and flexed her knuckles. Just as she felt the tension build to the point of breaking, it was shattered by the arrival of the policia.

The loud noise, the sudden lights, and the renewed screaming of the survivors, brought the monsters attention away from their tender flesh and to the unnamed cops that die before the real heroes cops show up. The ones that didn't play by anybodies rules but their own. The ones that usually got beaten and blown up but would never bear any scars later. The ones who always had trouble at home that usually got solved towards the end of the case. You know the ones. The ones that kill helicopters with cars.

As the monster began tearing through the uniformed cops like butter, and their cars too, Kagome relaxed.

"That thing looked oddly familiar." Myron spoke up, and as he said it, Kagome looked to find that though they both looked startled, they didn't look frightened. In fact, they looked ready. Seeing as how they stood tensed, Myron with his hand in his well tailored jacket and Gena with a hand at his back pocket.

Seeing her making observations, and with the danger quickly disappearing around the corner in a mass of destruction and screaming, and explosions, the two men relaxed.

"You know how this town is." Myron answered her unspoken inquiries. "There's always something strange going on, cartoon villains pop up like daises, and then they're all those mutants. You've got to be prepared."

Kagome was confused. She hadn't noticed any of those things while living in the city. Strange goings on, villains that weren't her boss, mutants? None of it rang a bell and she had been relatively active for months. Was she self-centered? Did nothing happen in her general vicinity? Maybe those other souls she smelled on the wind were the mutants. Or maybe they were the villains. Whatever, they had smelled good.

"I'm assuming that was enough excitement for you, so the limo will pick you up at 10:00 as planned."

If she was going to argue, it was lost on Gena, because the man had already closed the door and was pulling off, but he did wave them goodbye.

* * *

The next day greeted Kagome with news of the attack, saying that the monster that had killed a total of 15 people and wounded up to 43 was an escaped zoo animal that had lived in the sewers for months and fed on toxic waste that had mutated it beyond recognition. What made her laugh was how quickly people accepted it. As if strange things like this childhood figure come to life was an everyday occurrence. Maybe it was and she had just been too focused on herself to notice.

She shrugged it off and turned to face Miroku. Cold, stoic, Miroku. The Miroku whom she was forcing to show himself while she waited for her ride. The Miroku who had confirmed all the activities she had missed. Yes, the town was prone to many attacks of the unusual nature, and it was filled with people of extraordinary powers. People she had smelled on the wind.

"You want to have sex when I come back?" she asked him offhandedly.

Though she wasn't expecting anything overtly lecherous or like the old Miroku, she did get a reaction. His head snapped to face her, his brow slightly furrowed, but said nothing.

She grunted in response and turned back to face the busy street. Though she wasn't dressed in any top fashion attire, wearing only jeans, Tee, and heels, cars were still honking and hooting at her. She had on glasses, yet she was still being recognized.

"Miroku, I think I'm famous." She told him to no response. Again, she wasn't expecting one. Though she continued to be disappointed, she had asked Miroku to be with her until her ride arrived in hopes of enticing the former sordid monk with the tantalizing flesh and beauty of her model acquaintances.

Upon arrival, they either hung out the door, or stood out of the sunroof to greet her. Smiling at them, Kagome entered the limo and looked back at Miroku, to find him not reacting at all. He wasn't even looking at them, just being aware of their presence. Not quite pouting, she waved goodbye, followed by a chorus of goodbyes from her co-workers, and was off.

She came to find out, that not only had Gena given them a list of stores to visit, but he had also set up a meet and greet in between their shopping. The forcing of shopping and where to shop, annoyed her slightly, but at least Gena had saddled her up with four models that she could tolerate. They were a mix bag of nuts, all of different ethnicities and temperaments. Though they didn't blatantly isolate her, they still weren't over the unease she provoked. Yet, they tried to involve her in their chatter and she would attempt to keep her responses rational.

Overall, the day wasn't that bad, and she had even converted to a time when she normally did this. Shopping with friends, talking, laughing, and goofing around, she found she was actually enjoying herself, and seeing her opening up, the other girls interacted with her more often.

When they entered the mall, she had seen the table and decorations set up for their meet and greet later that day. She could already see people getting excited about it and those on the creepier mindset stalking around in the vicinity. She pointed them out to the other girls and they all shook instantaneously at the thought of a stalker. Some of them had had experience. But the M&G wouldn't be for a while and they had a schedule to keep.

And so the day went, filled with walking, talking, and a gaggle of men, young boys, and a few women, leering and ogling them, the girls shopped, shopped, and shopped.

"Does this skirt make me look fat?"

"I miss eating food."

"You know I hate this job, they feed, dress, and talk to me like a baby."

"I wanted to be an astrophysicist, but my mom made me become a model."

"I wish they didn't make us wear heels everywhere we go."

"I think that old man in the bathrobe is following us."

"Can your back shrink?"

"My boyfriend likes for me to put him in a headlock during sex."

"I hate the color yellow."

"I didn't know you were missing toes."

"So whose turn is it to try to get Gena drunk and in bed?"

"Why is it called chubby chasing?"

"Gena scares me. I think he stole my manager's soul."

"Hey that rhymed!"

"I really think that guy is following us."

"Bring your fat ass back here."

By the time of the M&G Kagome had become bored and disinterested, and scary to the other girls, again. At the M&G she did as Gena wanted, she smiled, she signed autographs, and she refused to take off her glasses. She wasn't there to freak people out or draw attention. Yet she was, and very successfully.

Most who came to their table were young ladies wanting to know how to get into the business, some were young boys being unabashed about getting photos and just talking to pretty ladies, and just a few were there to bash models and those were taken away by security.

Kagome had just gotten finish making a young man pass out, when a scent of a soul hit her nose. With the picture taken, and the young man smothered and blissful in her chest, Kagome stepped away and dropped him to the floor. Inhaling again, she smiled. There were two distinct souls and they were getting closer. A fire and ice combo, and they were distinct to the ones she smelled on the wind. Maybe it was time to start paying attention.

She turned on her heel to seek them out, but before she could cast her eyes around to search, she found her personal space invaded by a bouncy little brunette. She would have excused herself away, but with the sudden appearance of the brunette also came the scent of the interesting soul. This was the ice she had smelled.

"Hello." she greeted with a smile.

"Hi, oh my God, Hi! I'm Kitty, and I'm like your biggest fan!"

"A fan of mine? I don't really do anything." As she said this, she heard a derisive snort sound out behind Kitty. Looking over her head, Kagome saw what could only be described as your typical angst filled teenager with socializing issues.

"Hello to you too, my sunshine."

"Oh, don't mind her, she's just cranky because she hasn't eaten yet."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here." As she spoke, Kagome saw that the young lady had a thick southern accent. She also smelled that she was the other soul she had smelled. The fire to Kitty's ice.

"You don't like models…?"

"Her name's Rogue and she don't like much of anything."

"I can speak for myself." Rogue snapped at her, but Kitty was either used to the surly attitude or else her perky disposition was impenetrable. "It's not that I don't like models, it's just that I don't care."

Kagome's smile widened. "You want a hug?"

"What? No!"

"What's it like being a model?" Kitty interrupted.

"It was glamorous, fun, and full of interesting people doing interesting things in interesting places." Kagome recited for her.

"How did you get into the business?"

"My manager ran me over in the middle of traffic."

"What? Why? How did that workout?" Kitty looked shocked and confused.

Rogue just looked amused. "What, so he made you a model so you wouldn't sue?"

"No, it was my fault. I was running through traffic when he hit me, and I guess he just saw something in me."

"Why were you running through traffic?" Kitty asked with the affirmative commenting of her companion.

"I don't remember." she answered truthfully. "I probably just thought it might be fun."

The answer put the girls in a slight stupor. They glanced at each other and Rogue shook her head.

"Um, okay. What about your signature look? Your eyes. How do you get them to do that? It's so cool."

"Is it cool?" she shrugged. "It's a natural condition. I wasn't born with it, but I developed it over time. A constant look that causes horror, fear, and revulsion with just a glance. Do you want to see?"

"Can we?" Kitty asked, her voice low in anticipation as both she and Rogue stepped closer.

With her smile gone, Kagome shrugged off her glasses. She hesitated only a moment before looking up at the girls. Just as she thought, on first contact, they stepped back and made little gasps of fears and shock. With them silenced again, Kagome placed the glasses back over her face and smiled sadly.

Disappointment was the key today. Disappointed that she couldn't get a response from Miroku, and disappointment that there still wasn't a person who could look her in the eye without flinching. Even Logan reacted to it. During sex, if they made eye contact, he would growl fiercely and just go at it harder. When they weren't intimate, he just learned how to look at her without connecting. She realized then, that the lack of closeness made her sad.

"The photos dull the effect quite a bit. Much more horrible in person. Don't you agree?"

Despite the horror of her eyes, the unpleasantness of Rogue, and the bottomless fountain of perkiness that was Kitty, Kagome felt that she had found a bond and she was going to milk their encounter for all it was worth. She talked to the girls for the rest of the M&G and then invited them along for the rest of the shopping trip with promises of buying them anything they wanted. She enjoyed the shopping more with her little entourage and had even made Rogue smile, if only momentarily. It came that towards the end of the shopping function that she had to bid her new friends farewell to which she deposited everything she had bought into their overloaded arms.

The other models commented on her charity work and voiced their desires to have done the same. She merely shook her head and rode in silence. She just wished to be home and spend an aggravating night with Logan. She did smile in anticipation at the thought of his angered growl.

But her night would have to wait until later, because as of right now, they were stuck in traffic.

"Do you think if I cover myself in strawberry jelly, Gena would lick it off?"

The question came out of nowhere, and Kagome found herself laughing along with the others.

"I was serious." The girl said after a moment, her voice sounding highly offended.

They only laughed harder at her before giving other ideas at how to get Gena to sleep with you.

"Have a trail of M&Ms leading to your bed."

"Put syrup in your pants and walk past him."

"Hide Hershey's inside your clothes, drop one down your shirt when you're with him, and don't get. It'll bother him so much he'll snatch your shirt off to get at it."

"Drug his chocolate turtles."

"Wear an outfit made from fruit roll ups."

"Grab his crotch and give him a candy bar."

'_Kagome.'_

"Oh." Sitting back, Kagome ignored the others and listened. She listened hard, she threw out her senses, but she couldn't hear anything over the sound of the women's laughter and the honking of the horns from the rode. But if she sat and went slack, she did feel vibrations through the limo that weren't just from the engine. Now that she thought about it, the car did seem to be swaying slightly.

Seeing that the others didn't notice it, Kagome rolled down the window and stuck her head out. With the window down, she could now hear screaming along with the horn, but she couldn't see anything but the bridge that they waited upon and an endless string of cries. Well that and people running towards her.

"Curious." She mumbled as she pulled her head back in. By now, the others girls had noticed and grown quiet. Two had decided to stick their head out the sunroof, and from their gasps, she assumed they saw something more interesting that she had. As the others looked at each other in confusion, Kagome stood and joined the others at the sunroof. What she saw made her smile, despite the circumstances. Stuck in the wires of the bridge, and trying to free himself, was a big, red puppy. He was making whining noises as he struggled, and his movements were making the bridge sway.

"I think we should get off the bridge." One of the girls standing with her voiced aloud before she ducked back inside to inform the driver.

"We're going to be late getting back." The other one commented as she too ducked back inside.

Despite their casualness, Kagome only got a start as she mentioned their late arrival. Logan was supposed to be coming over tonight, and she had wanted to prepare. But as the puppy whined loudly and tried to scramble free again, she smiled. Let him wait. By now, she was joined by two other girls wanting to see what was going on.

Though the puppy's hind legs were still in the water, his forepaws were on the bridge and blocking lanes. Most of the people, she saw, were running in fear of the big, red, puppy, but a few were still in their cars and honking at the beast to get out of their way.

"Hey! I know that dog!" One of the new girls exclaimed loudly with a delighted smile on her face, but before she could utter another word, the wires trapping the canine had snapped, and as the bridge began to lean dangerously low to one side, the puppy fully climbed onto the bridge and began to shake the water from his crimson fur.

As he shook, and they were pelted with heavy, dog smelling rain, the bridge quaked violently and cars began sliding towards and off the broken edge. Thankfully, most of the cars had been abandoned, and only the few stragglers, the stubborn, fell into the depths below.

By now, the driver had gotten the message and their limo shot backwards recklessly, but their retreat was cut short as they hit the abandoned cars behind them. The collision had girls colliding with the back of Kagome's knees, and after hitting her chin on the roof of the car, she slunk down and on top of the other fallen girls. She wasn't down long before she was heading for the door.

"Come on!" Kagome yelled as she finally got out and confirmed what she thought she had seen before falling inside, the puppy was happily playing with traffic by running through it and vigorously shaking any cars he found with people inside. It wasn't until the screaming inside died that he went on to the next one, and he was getting closer.

"Ladies." The driver greeted them as he began to help them out. "Do you have the flare? I feel we may be in need of them."

The girls looked at him in confusion, including Kagome, and seeing their faces he sighed. "I shall handle it then." He told them as he headed towards the trunk. "Please start heading back off the bridge and I will join you momentarily.

After a small goodbye, the girls all began to make their way off the bridge. Though they didn't run, they hurried with a wobbly gait and realized that swaying bridges and heels didn't mix.

"This reminds me," one of the girls commented shakily as they scurried away, "of the time we had a snake outbreak on our plane."

"Sounds tiring!" Kagome replied, but before she could hear a response, they were distracted by a muffled explosion. As the sound was heard it was muted in comparison to the sudden display of lights that soared into the sky. It started as a single missile of light that soared above their heads. It exploded once into a blossom of light that produced two more missiles that soared off into opposite directions to bloom into blossoms of their own.

"Does the smoke smell like peppermint to anyone else?"

"Get a move on it ladies." The driver shouted as he placed the flare gun, bazooka, back into the trunk. "Your ride should be arriving…"

The girls blanked out whatever else the driver said because at that exact moment, a red, furry, and adorable beast loomed up from behind him like a horrible sunrise of the last day on earth.

As the driver caught on to the cliché behind him, the girls did not wait to see the inevitable outcome as he turned around to face his doom. They tried their hardest to ignore the wet, gurgling sounds behind them, yet this became easier as the police, and what appeared to be the national guards and mercenaries in tanks, arrived and bypassed them to intercept the canine menace. From the sounds of it, the reinforcements weren't doing too good, and if the amount of debris, and appendages, that soared above, ahead, and around them was anything to go on, they were in fact losing.

_'Kagome.'_

Despite herself, Kagome turned around to find herself staring at an utterly adorable scene of a big red puppy chewing on a tank, and for one brief moment, she made eye contact with the largest pair of doe eyes in existence and her mind went cute stupid.

"Awe!" she murmured, forgetting that although she had turned around, she hadn't stopped moving and tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground in a heap.

With a bark like a cannon blasting, the big, red beast let the cannon it was shaking loose with uncanny accuracy. Watching it fly, Kagome gave a shout of warning to the retreating girls, but by then it was too late and a great shadow had fallen over them.

* * *

"Oi, Kouga!"

Climbing out of the well with an expertise skill she had cultivated over the years, Kagome Higurashi found out that she could not completely crawl out and onto land. Stuck at the lip, she found her way blocked by the sleeping figure of the man she had agreed to mate.

Though they had not had sex yet, they slept on the same mat in a secluded area of the cave together. He understood her unease and reluctance, so she didn't fear him taking advantage of her. Not as much, anymore. But she would lie awake at night and wait until his breathing pattern changed into that of deep sleep. She would then just look at him. Actually study him. During the day, and whenever he was awake, Kouga's face was always…happy. He smiled, he snarled, and he frowned, but she always got the feeling that he was a happy being. He was too confident and cocky to not be happy. Even when being serious, acting as leader of his pack and diplomat; what he exuded was a contented soul.

She wasn't use to it. She was accustomed to doom and gloom Inuyasha. The scowling, bad tempered, giant chip on his shoulder dog demon. But when he slept, the angry scowl lines would dissipate and he would be at peace. She could see the goodness that she knew was in his heart then. Yet Kouga was different. There was no change from his wakeful face to his sleeping one. Yes, his face softened, but he just went from devilish rogue, to a slightly less devilish, sleeping scoundrel. It made her feel like sleeping next to him was dangerous. Which in fact, it probably was. Kouga didn't hide his intentions for her. She blushed at the feeling of all his attention he gave her. He was always doting on her. Touching her, complimenting her, and devoting himself to her happiness. He was unabashed in his flirting, almost to the point where it was no longer flirting but sexual harassment. Kouga was an ego booster, and it was this newly inflated ego that had her sometimes thinking that the sense of triumph and content that Kouga exuded was because of her. She made him happy just by being with him? She couldn't understand it.

She was awakened from her reflection by a pressure on her lips. Realizing that the sudden pressure was generated by a quick peck from a now awakened Kouga, she jolted in surprise and fell back into the well

"Oh no you don't." Kouga barked as he caught her by the scruff of her top and hoisted her safely from the well. "You're not disappearing on me again."

As he set her back down on the ground, he busied himself by adjusting her clothes and grooming her of any dirt or flaw. "I've spent hours jumping in and out of this well, and nothing. How do you do that?"

"I don't know." She answered as she brushed his preening hands away. "Guess it has something to do with the jewel and me being a miko or something. I don't really know, because Inuyasha can get through too."

Kouga's face went dark at the mention of his rival, as was usual when she mentioned the hanyou. "What the hell makes him so special?" he asked, speaking mainly to himself.

Familiar with this situation, Kagome placed an hand on his arm. "I think its because of his rosary."

"Rosary?"

"Yes. He has a rosary around his neck, and its connected to me, somehow. I never really asked Kaede about how it works."

"Since you're my woman now, I think maybe I should get one of these…special rosaries."

Kagome giggled at the thought and missed the flinch it caused him. "I don't think you want one of these. With it, I can subdue Inuyasha whenever I want. I know I abuse it sometimes too, and, and it looks really painful when I do."

He shrugged. "I figure a little pain is worth it, if it means we can be connected like that."

Quieted by this, Kagome turned red with embarrassment. "Um, if you still want to meet my family, I suggest we get going. I set it up with mama already, she's taking everyone out for a bit while I get us settled."

"Right." He declared as he jumped onto the lip of the well. "Now how does the work again? Are you ground dwellers?"

"I told you." She said with a huff as she joined him on the lip. "I'm from the future."

"I got it, future ground dwelling humans."

"No!" she ground out with a stomp of her foot as she swatted his arm. "We jump in and travel to the future, where we then climb _out_ and onto _above _ground. I live at a shrine."

"Got it. Future, above ground, shrine. In the future."

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Well I didn't, until you disappeared in a blinding light at the bottom of a dried up well."

"If you didn't believe me, then why did you come this far?"

"You're my woman." He replied as an answer.

"So how are we going to do this?" he asked her after a moment of silence.

"Well usually," she began. "I drop my things in and jump in after them, but I don't know if that'll work. So I was thinking we just jump in together."

"Jump in…into the future…through the well."

"You just can't accept that can you?"

"Just wrapping my mind around it. I don't know if you know this, but I'm a little stubborn."

"Really?" she couldn't keep the smile out of her voice and when he looked at her he grinned.

Clasping her hand in his, he brought it to his lips and kissed the back of it. "To our future, eh?"

"Right." She replied back, a blush on her face, and not knowing what else to say, she jumped into the well. Bringing a fiancée to meet the in-laws.

_To our future._

* * *

"That's why there are no demons here!" Kouga yelled over the sound of the shower. "The humans enslaved them into their homes! My poor brethren, too stupid and weak to fight back!"

"Shut up!" she yelled back, tired of Kouga's ever lasting energy/complaints. Why does the air stink? Why are there so many humans? I smell no demons nor many animals. What did you do with them all? Witchcraft! Why is the summer outside, but winter inside this palace? This is nice, I wish the cave had indoor winter for the summer. What is this plant? Its dead but still vibrant! What sort of animal skin is this on the floor? I've never encountered any such as this. Where is this water coming from? It's everywhere.

"That's what it is, right?" Kouga asked, stepping out of the shower wet and naked.

Kagome, who had been leaning on the outside of the door, was taken aback as the naked Kouga entered the hallway and began to shake the water off like a dog, or wolf.

"Stop it you animal." She shrieked as she rushed inside the bathroom to turn off the running water and grab a towel. But as she exited it, she was shocked, _not_, to find him not where she left him, but down the hall and about to urinate in one of the only living houseplace.

"No." She yelled, racing to stop him. "Don't do that there."

"Then where is the outhouse? I know you humans sometime have them."

"We don't have one." She told him as she grabbed him by the arm and drug him back to the bathroom, all the while keeping her eyes up and away from interesting parts. "We do it here."

"Here?" he asked speculatively, looking at the porcelain bowl. "In the house, Kagome? That's filthy. And where does the shit go, in the eating area?"

"No." She spat back defensively. "Its all done in here. You do your business, then you push this button."

As she demonstrated the miracle of indoor plumbing, in alarm at the sudden noise, Kouga kicked out and cracked the bowl, chipping it in the process.

"What the hell is that? This monster eats the mess?"

"No. Its not a monster." Kagome sighed at the situation. "Its just a noisy machine. We have water accessed to the house that lets us clean, and use at our own discretion. And water provided to this bowl, helps us get rid of the mess. Takes it away, so we can live in a sanitary environment."

"Where does it go?" He asked, still confused and alarmed.

"Pipes leading from the houses lead underground to a place called the sewer where all the mess goes."

"So that's why you don't live underground! Its full of shit!"

"Yes, kind of." She answered unsurely. " But it doesn't stay there. There are bigger pipes, tunnels? I guess, I'm not too sure, that lead to a place that people work at…to, clean and…separate? The mess from…the, um, water. And then the water is purified…and sent back to the homes for use again."

"So what happens to the mess?"

"Why are you so interested?" she demanded, getting frustrated because she didn't know the answer.

"Its bothering me! Is there a place with piles of shit everywhere? Shit and piss, just piled up and dry, because the water was taken from it. What happens?"

"Its turned into fertilizer." She finally shouted, as she thrust the towel in his face.

"Oh." Kouga said calmly as he relaxed. "That's resourceful then. I guess the future isn't so barbaric."

"Right. _We're_ barbaric. Do what you need to do, dry off, and come find me." Exasperated, and trying not to look, Kagome headed for her room.

"Wait." She added as an afterthought. Stepping back into the bathroom, she lifted the seat. "When boys…pee, they lift the seat."

"Why?" he asked again, his stance making her uncomfortable.

"Because when girls have to pee, they hate sitting on old ,sprinkled pee from others. Boys lift seat to pee, girls lower seat to pee. And would you stop moving that thing."

"Well if this bothers you, how are you going to act when I actually use it?"

Face reddened to the point where she could feel the heat, Kagome exited the bathroom and her wiggling man.

* * *

"Why do I have to wear this?"

Kagome visibly held in a sigh. "Because this is what we wear in the future." She told him slowly as she struggled to comb the tangles out of his freshly cleaned hair. "This is what men wear, here."

"Don't they know I'm a demon? A demon from the past apparently. Why I got to dress like I'm from here?" Kouga asked as he picked at the slacks and t-shirt Kagome had gotten for him. She had considered buying him shoes too, but she figured that might have been pushing it.

"For the same reason you told me; to help you fit in. That's why I wear those furs."

He mumbled something under his breath and Kagome stopped mid comb.

"What was that?"

"I said; I mainly did it just to see you flounce around in them."

"You're a jerk." She growled as she swatted on the head.

He hissed at the sudden pain, but it didn't stop him from grinning wildly. "Still worth seeing you in them, though."

"Sometimes I wonder," she muttered as she continued to comb his hair, "you might be just as lecherous as Miroku."

"Hey, its not lechery if you're mated.." He laughed before leaning his head back against her as she combed more smoothly now.

"For humans it's called marriage." She reminded him.

"I like this. It feels right." His eyes closed in pleasure at her touch. "Did you know that petting and grooming is a big part of the courting routine for us wolves?"

Kagome falted in her task, but continued on regardless. She didn't want to court Kouga. She didn't want to be in a relationship with him. But she had been hurting so much, and he had seemed like a way out. That way out turned out to be an exit to a closed off alley. She was stuck in it. She would marry Kouga and live amongst wolves for the rest of her days.. While the love of her life lived happily ever after with another woman who looked exactly like her. A woman who actually was her with a different attitude. It was enough to make anybody run off with a turn-around villain who lived in a cave with no underwear.

* * *

Soon, her family returned and the introductions were made. After ambushing her mother, calling her mama, declaring where Kagome got her beauty from, tossing Souta into the air like a football, trapping him in a bear hug, that was inside a random tornado, and making him vomit violently on the ground; Kouga had officially won the two over.

"I like him."

Looking up from the food she was helping to prepare, Kagome turned a small smile to her mother.

"That's because he called you beautiful." She teased.

Her mother smiled at her broadly. "Well that didn't hurt."

Sharing a laugh together, they continued to prepare the celebratory meal, while Kouga, Souta, and Grandpa sat in the dining room and looked at each other. Ever so often, she would hear her grandpa interrogate the wolf prince, whom was taking it all in stride.

"So you're a demon?" she heard him ask.

"That's right, gramps. I'm a full fledged wolf demon. Leader of the Eastern wolf tribe."

"What does the leader of a wolf pack do?"

"To be the leader, you have to be dominant!" Kouga declared fiercely. "The strongest, most skilled, and the most determined become leaders to protect, provide, and…you know, lead."

"How many….individuals, do you lead?"

Kouga's face went slack for a moment as he tried to come up with a number. He had never really counted them, nor had he ever really looked at them as individuals. To him they were a unit. One whole pack.

"Around 50 total." Kagome called out from the kitchen. "Including the wolves who aren't demonic."

"That's right." Kouga agreed with a fangy grin as he looked back at her.

"I think he loves you." Her mother said after Kouga's attention was once again on grandpa. "I think he loves you, very much."

"I think he does too." She replied, not bothering to look up. "I use to feel like he only pursued me back then was because of his rivalry with Inuyasha."

"But now what makes you think he loves you?"

"What makes _you_ think he loves me?"

"Oh, it was just the little things." Her mother answered, with a little smile on her face. "His light touches, the way he looks at you when you're not looking, and the fact that he agreed to come meet your family. I don't think he would have come if he didn't love you."

"Actually," Kagome began, "this was all his idea."

* * *

"Have you ever eaten humans?"

"Souta!"

"Not at the dinner table."

"I feel like that's a good question."

"Grandpa!"

"Only if Kouga doesn't find it inappropriate."

"Of course its inappropriate."

Kagome looked aghast at her family. Why would they bring this up? And at the dinner table no less. She wanted them to get along with him, he wanted them to like him, so why bring up a topic that would solidify his status as a demon. With Inuyasha, he had been a strange looking boy with a high metabolism. Though while Kouga looked closer to human, he was the furthest from it.

"Well we use to." Kouga finally answered without a shrug.

The table grew silent.

"Yeah. I had a pack to feed, and humans were a quick and easy prey. Besides, they're so many of them, you breed like rabbits."

"Should I be offended?" Souta wondered aloud to the silent apocalypse.

Finally becoming aware of the awkwardness, Kouga paused with the bowl to his mouth and looked around. Setting his meal down, and wiping his mouth with his hand he grinned. The grin did not help the situation.

"But after meeting Kagome, I weaned them off of it." He bumped shoulders with her. "I can't have my woman feeling uncomfortable, or having the pack look at their new alpha like chow."

"What…what does human taste like?" her mother seemed hesitant to know.

"Potatoes." He answered without hesitation.

"Potatoes?" Kagome asked, curious despite herself.

"Yeah. If those potatoes were filled with hot, dripping, sticky blood." He emptied his bowl with a noise of satisfaction. "I never knew vegetables could taste good. We're mostly meat eaters, you know. And potatoes of course."

"Oh my. Well, uh, Kouga…I'll, go get you some more." Grabbing his bowl, Kagome's mother scurried off into the kitchen. "Wouldn't want to keep you hungry."

"Potatoes?" Souta voiced aloud again.

"You called my granddaughter an alpha. What does that entitle?"

"Since I am the alpha male in my pack, she will inherit the title of alpha female. It means that when I am away, Kagome here will be in charge."

Kagome felt her stomach drop. "I didn't know all that."

"Don't worry." He told her, as he threw an arm around her shoulder. "You'll be acting leader when I'm away and no one outranks you."

He leaned in close to her then and growled low in his chest. "But I won't be pulling rank on you…not unless you want me too."

Any nervousness was cut off then as she cut her eyes at him. "Really? In front of my grandpa and little brother?"

"Tell me where you want it then?"

"Should I be offended now?" Souta asked. "Because I feel that I should be offended."

"You should." Kagome answered but was ignored. "Because I am."

"Here you go Kouga." Arriving back with more food for her, not really hungry but he will stay full when visiting this house, future son-in-law, Kagome's mother placed the food on the table and smiled sweetly. "Now the important question is, what are your intentions with my daughter?"

At this question, a sound erupted from Kouga that was more chuckle than laugh, more scary than sweet, and obviously more dirty than anything else. A quick elbow to the ribs cut the sound off, but the look remained.

"I'm defiantly offended. I'm going to go find a gun."

As Souta left, he didn't get to hear anything Kouga said.

"Mama Higurashi, my intentions toward your daughter is simple. I plan to keep her fat, happy, and pregnant."

"Well I couldn't ask for more." She replied with a broad smile at her daughter's good fortune.

* * *

"I should have loved him more."

After the bridge fiasco with the big, red dog, and almost being crushed to death by a tank, Kagome and the girls had been miraculously saved by nothing less than superheroes. Real life superheroes.

They arrived in a jet, and jumped immediately into action. The tank had been stopped, mere feet from killing them, by a giant metal man. He stood far over 6' feet tall and was a shiny, metallic mini-god. With the tank nestled comfortably on his shoulders, he looked down at them and nodded in greeting. The girls who remained standing swooned at the sight of him.

Though being tall, imposing, and impossibly strong, the scent Kagome got off of him was of pure innocence. This living statue, this Hercules on steroids, was so good, so in peace and in sync with himself that his soul seemed to sing out to her and made her smile. She had felt tears prick her eyes, but before they could fall, a blue furred demon had materialized before them.

The girls screamed, and Kagome found her nose invaded by the scent of brimstone.

"Don't be alarmed ladies." The blue man told them in a German accent as he grinned cheekily at them.

Kagome glanced around with a smile at all the interesting people she sensed around her. _'What the hell was going on?'_

"I'll take it from here, Colossus." Blue demon told their beautiful statue as he circled his arm, and tail she saw with delight, around the stunned and silent girls. Kagome willingly hugged him back, and with a pop and disoriented moment, they found themselves safely on land and away from the destruction.

After the blue man left, the girls only waited a short while before Gena appeared, with a helicopter, and hoisted them away and to their respected abodes.

"What'd you say?"

Snapping back to reality, Kagome sagged into Logan's embrace as he threw a wet arm around her naked torso. Tilting her head back, she landed a kiss on his neck. "I would complain about you using all my hot water, but all your hair is keeping me warm."

"It wouldn't have been cold if you hadn't have zoned out for 10 minutes." He tossed back at her as he turned her around so that the shower now sprayed on her back. "What was that all about?"

"Talking about how you're going to clog up my pipes."

Even wet, his reflexes were quick and sure. His hands were at her waist and she suddenly found herself plastered to the shower wall, her legs around his waist in surprise, the traitors, and their noses touching in close proximity. "You damn right I am." He growled, the rumbles reverberating in her own chest, before he kissed her roughly.

She was breathless by the time he let up, and he was breathing harder than she. "Did you set it out?"

Climbing down off of him, she winked as she exited the shower. "Guess you'll have to get out to see."

As he turned the water off and hopped out after her, she tossed the towel she was using to dry off into his face and raced out of the bathroom with a giggle as he growled at her.

He caught up with her in the bedroom before she knew it and had scooped her up from behind and flipped over and onto the bed. She giggled and he laughed, they tickled and they nibbled. He acted like a young man in love, and she behaved as if she wasn't a demented, tortured widow. She felt happy and carefree, tousling around the room like a little girl playing tag. Well, maybe not a little girl, that would be creepy considering the game, but a younger, lighter soul.

"That's enough of that." Logan finally spoke up as he sat down on the edge of the bed and paused their game. Seeing that their clothes had fallen to the floor, he grabbed his boxers and tossed her garments to her. "Here, put them on. Then take them off again…slowly."

The lingerie was black and lacy. A corset piece with garter belt and stockings. She had gotten it from the last photo shoot and had decided to surprise Logan with it.

But due to the action on the bridge, and Gena's escort service, she hadn't had the time to get everything ready. Yet, because Logan had also been late, for some reason she hadn't asked, and tired, she didn't mind too much.

Due to the late hour of their meeting, their date consisted of riding around on his bike, and eating from street vendors. Later on, way after mid night, they returned to her apartment and to the shower.

With the lingerie on, she smiled coyly as he tossed a pair of black heels at her. "I like a man who knows what he wants."

"Then go out there and dance for me." He constructed her, nodding toward the balcony doors with a cigar in his mouth.

Getting up from the bed to get a better seat, he slapped her on the behind as she passed by, causing her to yelp. Grabbing a chair he planted it in front of the doors and smoked his cigar in the gloom as Kagome closed the doors. Though the curtains remained drawn, they were thin and her silhouette was clearly visible.

On the other side of the door, Kagome stood and waited. Waited until he told her when to start, until he got annoyed, and just waited until he told her what to do.

It was working. Of course it was working. Kagome loved to irritate him, and he secretly loved all the aggravation. It made the sex primal and aggressive. Despite her size, Kagome was a resoundingly supple girl, and could take his roughness in stride, along with delivering her own rugged play. If he had to describe relationship with Kagome in one word, it would be spicy. Weird, but spicy. She made him feel young. Young and normal, and sometimes a little dirty, but that was wonderful too.

When he had followed Sabertooth onto that photo shoot that day, he hadn't expected him to use a model as a diversion, he hadn't expected to cop a feel on said model, and he hadn't expected to have that model stalk him down to the very slums of the city. He had seen images of the woman before; TV, magazines, hell, he saw her on a billboard almost everyday. He'd seen models before, they were everywhere, but she had been

distinguishable. It was her eyes. Her eyes made him flinch. They struck him like a nail to the head, and would invoke his fight-or-flight responses. Then finally one night, those eyes stared at him uninvited from the opposite side of a table.

At first, he had assumed she had tracked him down to thank him. That turned out not to be the case after the subject of his scent popped into the picture and her demanding that he better be just as good. The bitch had seduced him, but he wasn't complaining. Not then anyway.

"What the hell is taking so long? I said dance!" he added a growl at the end of his command. He knew she liked it when he did so, and who was he to deprive her?

To his pleasure, he saw her begin to move. He smiled as she thrust herself towards the glass, but that smile soon depleted as she thrust herself at the glass so hard she was thrown through it, across the room, and slammed into his chair.

He yelled in surprise as he was knocked over with the force of her impact. She lay stunned on the floor, bits of glass littered around her as the scent of blood invaded his nose. Crouching over her, he called her name to get her to come to. Though her eyes were open, she didn't look his way. Her stare was fixated on the balcony door, now broken and allowing the nighttime air and noises to intrude. Yet, that wasn't the only thing to be let in.

"Who are you?" a voiced yelled angrily from the broken doorway. "And why are you making my Kagome do gross things?"

In the door, staring violently at him, was a man. Tall, with long dark hair pulled into a ponytail, and fierce green eyes.

'Great.'

Logan thought furiously, as he rose to confront the man. '_She has a crazed stalker.'_

"I'll kill you before I let you ruin her!" the man growled.

Flexing his muscles, and wishing he had on more than boxers, Logan prepared to wipe the floor with the lunatic, but as he took a step closer, the lunatic disappeared, but he hadn't gone far.


	19. Chp 18

**Chp. 18 Quarrel**

* * *

He smelled him before he saw him. And he felt him before he could stop him. A clawed hand on his arm alerted him too late. The grip was stronger than he expected, too strong, the man had to be a mutant. Claws pierced his skin, scraping the bone, he felt with a grimace, and he was sent flying through the air. He hit the wall above her bed, his lower back creating a crater in the plaster before he fell to the bed. At least he had a soft landing.

He didn't stay down long, and as the strange man loomed over the immobile Kagome, he tackled him away from her and into the dresser. They grappled around for only a mere minute before the stranger hoisted him into the air and smiled at him.

"Hey, Kagome!" the stalker called out cheerfully, not taking the fight seriously. "Watch this!"

Growling at the leisure tone of the stalker, Logan prepared to knock him out with a punch to the temple, but faltered as the man's jaw detached and opened wide. His chin stretched down to touch his chest and his mouth was filled with needle thin, black spikes taking the form of teeth.

"Shippo, stop this." Getting her resolve, he watched as Kagome stood up to come to his rescue.

"What?"

Kagome bit her lip as Shippo, wearing her husbands skin, looked at her with hurt and confusion in his eyes. It made the situation, with him holding an enraged Logan in the air, look like a love triangle come to fruition.

Seemingly oblivious to the snarling, hairy man he held over his head, Shippo continued. "But…but he made you do nasty things."

She didn't know what to tell him. "That's what adults do."

Shippo scowled and tossed Logan through the other half of the balcony door. The impact sounded painful and Kagome flinched. Then she did it again when a clawed hand grabbed her around the throat.

"Don't tell me you like doing those things." The arm seized up, she could see the evil controlling it ripple underneath his skin. It tightened around her neck and she clutched at it to relieve the tension as he hoisted her to eye level. "Is it because you've been hanging around the monk?"

_'More like Kouga.'_ She thought aloud, enduring the choking, as her feet kicked at the air.

Green eyes sought out hers, and when they darkened in rage, she instantly knew why. The grip around her throat tightened and claws pierced her skin.

"Who are you!" he yelled, skin rippling with his fury. "You're not Kagome! Don't you look at me with those eyes!"

"Well I'm looking at you, pretty boy!" and suddenly Logan was there with a handful of knives and slicing up the arm that held Kagome. He sliced him from his shoulder to the wrist, spilling black blood that ate at the floor like acid.

Shippo screamed at the contact and leapt away, dropping Kagome in the process. But Logan gave him no time to retaliate before he was on him again. Slashing at Shippo with a savagery Kagome was unaware that he possessed.

Kagome wasn't sure where Logan had gotten the knives, considering he only wore his boxers at the moment. Though their origins were a mystery to her, she saw that Logan wielded them with expertise. Her poor Shippo was getting sliced and diced, but he wouldn't go down. He called out to her in Shippo's voice, calling for help, but she knew he didn't need it. His blood, being slung and splattered by the knives, was causing the room to be filled with smoke from where it hit the wall and carpet. There was less smoke from where it landed on Logan.

An elbow to the face and a kick to the sternum put Shippo in timeout in the corner. Breathing hard, Logan crouched down before Kagome and examined her throat. "Are you hurt?"

When she didn't answer, he followed her line of sight to his claws. Shiny and deadly, they lay only millimeters away from her skin as he touched her. His face slackened at her intense scrutinization of him. Guess the fun times were over. No more pretending. He silently cursed. Where was he going to find another crazed model that only wanted him for his body. No where. Damn. He liked being/having a booty call.

"I'm fine." He heard her say. He looked into her eyes, only briefly, and saw that she meant it. There wasn't acceptance, but it wasn't revulsion either. No fear, no negativity at all. It was just as if nothing had occurred. She was fine. That said something about her state of mind, but he wasn't going to complain.

"I'm fine too." They heard Logan say from across the room. From where a fox in wolf's clothing had lain fallen.

"What the hell?" he growled, as he looked at his doppelganger, smiling viciously and bearing claws. He sniffed then and growled low in his throat. "You're that damn dog from the bridge."

Shippo bounced on his feet giddily. "Yeah. I like to show Kagome what I can do."

Logan glanced back at Kagome but didn't say anything. She was busy staring at Shippo as he attacked. Logan had the upper hand in the battle. His claws were made of harder stuff, she saw, and hacked Shippo's imitations down like wood. He seemed greatly adept in his fighting style and technique, while Shippo was only a child playing warrior and had no training whatsoever. Logan easily evaded any and all of Shippo's assaults and was quick to deliver his own with a skilled aim.

Yet, while Logan had the upper hand in fighting, he still succumbed to injury from the acid blood that Shippo expelled. Kagome could smell his sizzling flesh from where she sat. Though Shippo's imitation claws were quick to be terminated, he had them in abundance and was quick to regrow them. And what Shippo lacked in skill, he made up for in ferocity and a timeline that only Kagome could end.

She was snapped out of her reverie by a roar from Logan that was soon imitated by Shippo. Claws still unsheathed, Logan grappled with her cub and crashed through her wall and into the interior of her apartment. She only sat dumbfounded for a moment, listening to the grunts, groans, and growls of the combatants in her home, before she hobbled to her feet, you could only hobble in heels, and ran out after them.

Outside her room, her apartment looked like it had been hit by a bomb. Craters lined her wall in random order, claw marks gouged everything from the floor to the ceiling. Her minimal furniture and decorations that lined her hall were destroyed and lay on the floor in pieces. And to top it all off, the blood that Shippo emitted was smoking and burning away at whatever it touched. For a moment she was almost drawn back to the cave after she had found her boys slain, but her grip on sanity allowed her to stay in the now.

Following the sounds of the scuffle, Kagome ran down the hall and barely missed getting bowled over as one of the Logan's was thrown from the kitchen and into her living room. That Logan was soon followed by the other, and it all happened so fast, she didn't have time to decipher one from the other. As she watched them, she thought about telling them apart by the severity of wounds. Shippo would have the least, and Logan should be suffering from lacerations and sever burns from the amount of blood. Yet as she looked upon them, she noticed that both were healing up as fast as the other.

"Hey, Kagome!" one of the Logan's called out jovially in the midst of the fight. Kagome smiled back. There was her Shippo.

"What the hell are you?" Logan growled angrily, irritated that his combatant wasn't taking their fight seriously.

Shippo grinned widely, showing his needle like teeth, and jumped back. "Want to see?" he asked as he raised his hands above his head.

Recognizing the gesture, Kagome found her feet moving before her brain could register the thought. And just as the familiar blue fire left Shippo's fingertips, she had knocked the unsuspecting Logan out of the way. She felt the heat of the flames on her back and was glad her mind had decided to fall away with Logan instead of just pushing him out of the way. That would've hurt.

Apartment now ablaze, Kagome lifted herself off Logan and smiled uncertainly down at him. "You all right?"

He stared at her and started to say something along the lines of: "Of course, I'm alright, why the hell did you but in?"

But before anything romantic could be said, something large, tan, and furry, swatted Kagome away from him like a fly.

"Stop messing up my fun, Kagome." Shippo reprimanded her from Kirara's mouth. "We're going to play later." Turning towards his prey, Shippo prepared to pounce on Kagome's fiend when his neck met with the force of adamantium, and before the head was done bouncing against the wall, Logan was on his feet checking up on the, miraculously, unharmed Kagome.

"That's not going to last." She breathed out as he hovered over her.

"The head came off in one clean swipe, I doubt…" but any reasoning he had flew out the window as the headless body stood up.

"You just wait until my body gets over here." Kirara's head growled with gnashing teeth. "I'm going to kick your assheaded poop chute!"

"He doesn't know how to curse properly." Kagome answered as Logan looked to her quizzically.

"Hey, come over here! Hey, you, over here!" the head yelled towards its wandering body. "Wait! No! Don't you take her from me! Kagome! Come Back!"

But by the time his yelling turned into keeling, Logan had swooped Kagome up and out of the apartment before she had a chance to react to his heart wrenching wails for her. With Logan holding her, bridal style, she could do nothing as they escaped the burning apartment and into the hallway where he almost dropped her from tripping over his clothing.

"What? When the hell did you have time to do this?" as he looked at her, she averted her gaze and he growled. "Nevermind!"

Setting her down, he hastily threw on his pants while tossing her his jacket. By now the smoke began to emit from her apartment, and with a battle cry, Logan smashed the fire alarm into smithereens and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Hold him here." She whispered under her breath, hoping the sound of the alarm and the newly emerging residents would keep Logan from hearing her. The only sign she got that signaled that Miroku had heard her was a gentle breeze against her cheek when the air was hot with the heat of fire.

Logan kicked open the door to the stairwell, and with more grace than she thought he had, he jumped down into the open area in between and only halted every few feet or so by grabbing hold of the railing before plummeting again. By the time they made it to the bottom, Kagome was holding in a grin and feeling like Ann Darrow, only with the succuss of making it down the empire state building safely with her beast.

With a fierce growl, Logan burst into the lobby, alert for any danger that would threaten him or his woman. But the only thing he startled were the security guards and managers who were already confused by the alarm going off. As he burst onto the scene, they started to approach but the sheer look of ferocity he displayed had them hesitating and when identifying the damsel he was making off with they gave silent prayers of relief. It was only the model from the 12th floor. She was strange enough to have them not bat an eye in their direction.

Outside, the fireman and emergency vehicles were just arriving, and despite the sight they provided, they were the least of anyone's worry. Though the sight of the authorities made Logan remember himself enough to set Kagome down so she could walk for herself, yet he kept a firm grip to her hand.

Above them, the fire had started to reach the other floors, and a crowd had gathered to watch the disaster. As they rushed through the crowd, Kagome smiled at the undecrepit nature of them. They were like moths to a flame. Flies to honey. Flies to anything really, those buggers didn't discriminate. That was good of them. Or greedy. She wasn't sure which would better apply to them.

An explosion wrenched her from her thoughts and she looked up to see debris raining down on them as, what looked to be where her apartment was located, the building belched out a torrent of flames. With the fire came a horrid screeching of warping metal and scraped glass. The crowd all cowered and cringed at the sound, but only Kagome knew what it truly was. The sounds of a little boy not allowed to play and have his way.

The noise continued, fluctuating in the air like a radio with bad reception. Her heart called out to him, as his did her for her. She heard the tormented cries in her head, but the grip on her hand was strong and led her away and to a parked bike.

"Where are we going?" she asked, her voice sounding oddly detached as she watched Logan straddle the machine, his hold on her hand never lessened.

"I'm taking you someplace safe." He told her with a grimace as he handed her a helmet.

She took it but didn't put it on, she smiled at him sadly. "You can't keep me safe from him."

He growled at the helplessness of her voice and he gripped her hands in anger, drawing Kagome attention to them. She had never noticed when he had retracted his claws. His hands looked so normal, still lethal, but not quite as deadly.

Seeing her look at them, he lessened up on the pressure and spoke to her in a calmer and resigned voice. "I can take you home with me. With more people like me."

Kagome who had been resolved to distance herself from him, stalled. Just as she turned to scream rape, someone had to pay attention then, his voice stilled her and the smell of his soul flooded her senses as she inhaled. More people like him? Who smelled like him? Beings with claws? Those she smelled on the wind?

She turned back to him, the burning, exploding building behind her forgotten as she looked at him.

"No." She finally told him, ignoring temptation.

"Listen." He rumbled lowly. "You either get on this bike willingly, or I toss you over this front seat and haul you off like a child."

She smiled at him before climbing onto the back. "Well, when you put it that way."

* * *

And so they drove. Away from the burning building, away from her screaming kit, and away from her life as a model. To that she would shed no tears, and once they were far enough away, she forgot about Shippo's wails too.

She and Logan had ridden together before. Both of them enjoyed the thrill of taking speedy trips through traffic. But this ride was different. It had a purpose; to get her the hell out of dodge.

They sped dangerously through traffic, took curves so tight that they fought gravity, and drove so fast that the wind threatened to steal Logan's jacket from her very back. She was slightly sheltered from the blistering wind by his wide frame, and clutching him as tightly as she did had his scent filling her nose. Not the scent of his soul, but his scent as a man. All together, their getaway wasn't so bad.

Soon the traffic and tall buildings thinned out as they left the city behind and entered the countryside. Not letting up on the throttle, they drove into the night and on lone roads in compatible silence. The lull of the engine and the scent of him in her nose had Kagome drifting to sleep, and it was only the knowledge that no death awaited her that had her lowering her defenses. That and the reassuring hand that Logan had placed on the arm encircling him. She smiled a sleepy smile that he couldn't see.

It wasn't until the sky started to lighten up did Logan decide to stop. As the engine cut off and they pulled over to the curb, Kagome awoke to find them just short of the middle of nowhere.

"I knew you were an animal." Kagome yawned as she followed his lead and got off the bike. "Living out in the wild, are we? Only venture into society for booze and mating?"

"Mating?" he growled at her, confused by the choice of words.

Kagome just smiled and made hand motions at him.

He ignored her. "This place I'm taking you too is just down this road." He told her with a jab of his thumb.

"And we need to walk there?" she asked.

He shifted and cleared his throat. "No. Its just that I want to set things straight with you."

She looked at him expectantly.

"This thing." He started. "Between us, stays between us."

Her eyebrows rose in realization. "Ashamed of me?"

"Who the hell would be ashamed of dating a model?"

"Then what's the problem? You have a wife?"

"The place I'm taking you is an institute. A school for gifted kids…"

"And you want to save face?"

He shrugged. "I only come around ever so often. They don't need to know my private life."

She flashed him. "Then how are we to explain this?"

After getting an appreciative look, he shrugged again, only with a roguish smile on his face. "I'll just say I was following up on a lead."

"So this secrecy…" she started as she laid a hand on his chest and leaned into him. "This means no more fun."

"No." He growled, throwing an arm around her waist. "This just means you can't be as loud anymore."

She looked at him with a raised brow. "_I _can't be as loud? You act like you're quiet as a mouse."

Not knowing how long they would be secret lovers, the two spent a short moment memorizing the feel of each other. Shortly after, Kagome found herself riding up to the driveway of a castle. It was probably a mansion, but the little girl in her wanted it to be a castle.

The estate was so colossal and beautiful that she wasn't even put off in the least when Logan drove around to the back like she was some kind of mistress. As they neared a garage, she was impressed by the automatic doors that opened upon they're arrival.

Hopping off the bike, Kagome began to follow Logan around like a puppy as he lead the way and she busied herself by sight seeing. But it wasn't until they got by the door that lead to the mansion proper, that he hesitated again.

"Some…some of the kids might look or do something out of the ordinary. Try not to be scared or anything. They just want to be normal."

She looked at him with a blank expression. "There was a talking, walking headless body in my apartment. Should I really be too shocked by anything I see?"

"Good point. Come on, I have someone I want you to meet."

"Isn't it a bit early to be doing this?" she asked, as they entered a highly decorated hallway.

"I'm sure he already knows we're here."

"Why? Security cameras or something?"

But before she could get a reply she sneezed loudly as her nose was assaulted.

"Bless you." He told her in his gruff way, turning to find a wide smile on her face. "What the hell are you smiling at?"

"Life." She told him truthfully.

* * *

'_What a motley crew_.' Kagome thought as she found herself in a office with Logan's 'friends'.

The headman in charge, she assumed that to be the older bald man in the wheelchair sitting behind the desk. Next to him stood a tall black woman with Inuyasha's hair. The bald guy seemed pleasant but impressive with his piercing eyes and shiny chair, and the white haired woman was lithe, beautiful, and incredibly intimidating.

She stood in the middle of the room facing the two while another, younger couple took up the rear. The young couple consisted of a proud standing, red head lady and her brunette love who wore his sunglasses at night so he could, so he could watch people weave then breathe their story lines, she assumed.

Logan stood level with her but off to the side. As far as everyone knew, she stood in the middle of the room surrounded by strangers. She wondered how she should act. As she contemplated this, and the plethora of souls that assaulted her nose. She sneezed again, causing Logan to pause momentarily in his recap of tonight's events.

Upon entering the mansion proper, the smells of the many souls inhabiting the place had overflowed her senses and made her sneeze. With the last sneeze, she assumed she was getting used to it as it wasn't as violent of the first had been. For the first time, she wondered why she was able to do so. What was the point? Was it because of her connection with Death? Her face clouded up at the thought. How deep did that connection go? As if to answer her, a chill went slowly down her spine and she had to control her urge to vomit.

"Miss," the voice jolted her from her disgust and she glanced up to find Logan's friends looking at her. It was the bald guy who addressed her. "If you're feeling sick, please have a seat."

"Thank you." She told him, feeling genuinely sick as she took a seat.

"Logan, please continue."

"There isn't much else to say." Logan grumbled. "I followed the scent to the hotel and caught the guy just before he could attack her."

"Why was he going to attack her? Rabid fan?" Inuyasha's cousin asked, her voice slightly accented.

"Why'd you bring her here instead of the authorities?" she heard red ask, but her voice did not sound angered or testy.

"What's the connection between these attacks?" Sunglasses asked. "They seem so random."

As they threw around questions, Kagome found the bald guy silent and studying her. The others quickly picked up on his attention and grew quiet.

"I find myself uncharacteristically at a lost of thought." He said, and Kagome saw that the words had a significant effect on the others. "But I feel you might be able to help me with that?"

Kagome looked around confused. "I can?"

"I hope so."

She shrugged. "Shoot."

"You're quite famous."

"That's what they tell me."

"So famous in fact, that you are bound to draw attention to yourself in crowded places."

"It happens."

"Yes it does. From news cameras on the attack downtown, you were filmed standing before the…assailant. Yesterday, I have

had students who claimed to have rescued a group of models from the assaulted bridge. And now we have our associate bringing you directly to us."

Kagome glanced around at the other occupants of the room, mostly to see Logan's face, but he was as indifferent as the rest. She looked back at the bald man.

"So, what are you getting at?"

"That if you're not directly involved," Logan answered for her, steel in his voice, "you damn sure know what's going on?"

She looked directly at him this time and didn't attempt to hide her annoyance. This was not the time to use sexy, steely voice. "Yes, I know what is going on." She answered truthfully, addressing the bald guy. "His name is Shippo and he's attacking this city because I'm here. He's my son."

"Your son?" the others exclaimed.

"So are you a mutant too?" this came from Logan.

"Mutant? That's a bit rude isn't it?"

"It's a mutated gene in our genetic code that gives us our powers." The bald guy explained. "Thus, regular humans call us mutants."

"And you embrace it." Kagome concluded with a shrug. "Where I'm from its just demons."

"Do you think that's any better than mutant?" Inuyasha's cousin asked her, challenge in her voice.

"That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet, my dear Romeo."

"I'll take thee at thy word, but I'll never be your Romeo."

"What just happened?" glasses asked in confusion. "Did they just quote Shakespeare?"

"What is your son's, this Shippo's, intent behind these attacks? Why does he want to hurt you, if you don't mind my asking?"

Kagome shook her head at him. "He doesn't want to hurt me."

"Really?" Logan spoke up. "Because that's what it looked like back when I rescued you."

"Well I guess you don't know much, now do you?"

Instead of answering her obviously rhetorical question, Logan growled deeply and took a menacing step forward. Kagome interrupted his bravado and stood up abruptly.

"Listen, I don't know you people, and you don't know anything about what's going on; I'm out of here." Turning towards the door, Kagome saw that glasses and red stood stoically in front of it.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that." Baldy told her calmly. "You are a liability. You see, if you are not directly controlling your son, you know why he's doing this. So, perhaps you take a seat and explain to us what's going on?"

"Well, since you put it like that." With as much grace as she could muster, Kagome glided back towards her seat and sat down primly. "Care to introduce yourselves first?"

"Pardon my rudeness. I am Professor Charles Xavier. And these are members of my team; this is Ororo, Jean, Scott, and you've already met Logan." As he indicated at each of the people in the room, they nodded to her in turn.

"Now, miss Higurashi, the matter of your son."

"Shippo." She said fondly with a smile, but as she looked back to the Prof., her smile dropped. "He's not a bad boy."

Logan scoffed, and Kagome glared at him.

"He's just a little boy with too much power. That's all he's ever wanted was to be strong. To protect me."

"Then what about these attacks?" Jean asked. "Were you in some kind of danger when they occurred?"

"No." Kagome answered, looking embarrassed. "He's been somewhere watching cartoons. He just wanted to show me what he can do."

"How long has he been out of control?" The professor asked, continuing the interrogation.

"I can't remember. After a while I stopped thinking of it."

"When did he come into his power?"

"He was born with it. He's my little shape shifter. You saw what he can do."

"You said he wanted to protect you. From what?"

"Whatever and whomever threatened me. But it usually ended up with him getting assaulted right along with me."

"Assaulted?"

"I was priestess before all this happened. My shrine got attacked a lot by…vandals."

"What the hell did anybody want at your shrine?" It was Logan who spoke, and the way he said shrine made it known that he didn't believe her.

"That story is not for you, so never you mind that." She snapped at him. "My shrine was a safe haven for wayward souls and some who came were too lost. He couldn't do anything then, but now that he has the strength, he goes overboard with trying to impress me; to protect me. He's such a sweet boy."

"I know you may have aversions to this, but your son has killed many innocent people and he needs to be stopped. If not for yourself, because it is obvious that this has had some monumental effect on your psyche, then for the millions of innocents out there in danger because of your son."

"You want me to tell you how to kill my Shippo?" she asked him, her face stony and her voice dead.

"Not kill, but at least detain, we try…"

"You can't stop him." She said with a grim smile. "Your thug here decapitated him, but he still lives. You can do nothing; nothing but let me go, so I can at least lead him away from you. If not, then you'll all die. I don't think that sounds fun; death by prepubescent child with no morals; broken and dismembered and dying in vain."

"And what about you?"

"Me? I'll live, but I won't survive it. Shippo has ways of keeping me safe. Safe and sound, but dead inside. I'll never survive, and he doesn't care."


End file.
